Where does “buta huruf” come from?

buta huruf (Malay) comes from Malay buta, from Proto-Malayic *butaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buta, from Proto-Austronesian buCa — mote in the eye.

buta huruf (Malay): Unable to read and write; illiterate

Definitions

  1. Unable to read and write; illiterate

Ancestry of “buta huruf”, step by step

buta huruf traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay buta

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaybutablind; not knowing; giant
2Proto-Malayic*butaʔblind
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbutablind
4Proto-AustronesianbuCamote in the eye

via Malay huruf

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayhurufletter
2Arabicحُرُوف—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian buCa →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buta →Every word from Proto-Malayic *butaʔ →