duo (Central Dusun)
Where does "duo" come from?
The Central Dusun word 'duo' meaning 'two' originates from the ancient Proto-Austronesian root *duSa. This term was formed by combining the prefix for dualism with the word for 'one', a structure that evolved through Proto-Malayo-Polynesian as *duha before arriving at its modern form. It shares deep historical connections with related terms like the Coastal Kadazan 'duvo', reflecting a long-standing linguistic heritage across the Austronesian language family.
Full etymology tree
- duo (Central Dusun), 'two'
- inherited *duha (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian), 'two'
- inherited *duSa (Proto-Austronesian), 'two'
- compound *du- (Proto-Austronesian)
- compound *əsa (Proto-Austronesian), 'one'
- inherited *duSa (Proto-Austronesian), 'two'
- inherited *duha (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian), 'two'
Ancestors
- *duha (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian)
- *duSa (Proto-Austronesian)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris