Where does “kawawa” come from?

kawawa (Tagalog) comes from Tagalog kaawa-awa, from Tagalog Ka-, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ka-, from Proto-Austronesian ka- — inchoative.

kawawa (Tagalog): sad; miserable; pathetic; wretched

Definitions

  1. sad; miserable; pathetic; wretched

Ancestry of “kawawa”, step by step

kawawa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Tagalog kaawa-awa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Tagalogkaawa-awapitiful; pitiable
2TagalogKa-implies companionship or partnership
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianka-marker of past time in temporal expressions
4Proto-Austronesianka-inchoative

via Old Javanese wawa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Javanesewawato bring, to carry

Words derived from “kawawa”

Every word from Proto-Austronesian ka- →Every word from Tagalog Ka- →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ka- →