Where does “tupai tanah” come from?

tupai tanah (Malay) comes from Malay tanah, from Proto-Malayic *tanah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tanəq — earth, soil, land.

tupai tanah (Malay): ground squirrel, a mammal of the subfamily Marmotini

Definitions

  1. ground squirrel, a mammal of the subfamily Marmotini

Ancestry of “tupai tanah”, step by step

tupai tanah traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay tanah

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaytanahground; land; earth
2Proto-Malayic*tanahearth; soil
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*tanəqearth, soil, land

via Malay tupai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaytupaisquirrel; tree shrew
2Quechuatupaymeeting, encounter; fight, conflict; sparring
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tanəq →Every word from Proto-Malayic *tanah →Every word from Malay tanah →