Where does “balat-buwaya” come from?

balat-buwaya (Tagalog) comes from Tagalog buwaya, from Proto-Philippine *buqaya, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buqaya, from Proto-Austronesian buqaya — crocodile.

balat-buwaya (Tagalog): crocodile skin

Definitions

  1. crocodile skin

Ancestry of “balat-buwaya”, step by step

balat-buwaya traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Tagalog buwaya

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Tagalogbuwayacrocodile; caiman
2Proto-Philippine*buqayacrocodile
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbuqayacrocodile
4Proto-Austronesianbuqayacrocodile

via Tagalog balat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Tagalogbalatskin; pelt; hide; animal skin; rind; peel
Every word from Proto-Austronesian buqaya