Where does “buwakaw” come from?

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

buwakaw (Tagalog): brazenly greedy

Definitions

  1. brazenly greedy

Ancestry of “buwakaw”, step by step

buwakaw traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Tagalog buwaya

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

via Tagalog nakaw

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Tagalognakawto steal; stolen
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesiantakawto steal
3Proto-AustronesianCakaw—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian buqaya →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buqaya →Every word from Proto-Philippine *buqaya →