walo (Tagalog)
Where does "walo" come from?
The Tagalog word 'walo', meaning eight, traces its roots back to the Proto-Austronesian word '*walu'. While its exact origins remain a subject of linguistic debate, many scholars believe it evolved from a compound of words representing five and three. This ancient root has persisted through centuries of development, appearing in cognate forms across various Austronesian languages, such as the Javanese 'wolu'.
Full etymology tree
- walo (Tagalog), 'eight'
- inherited *walu (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian), 'eight'
- inherited *walu (Proto-Austronesian), 'eight'
- compound *ɣatep (Proto-Austronesian), 'five'
- compound *təlu (Proto-Austronesian), 'three'
- derived *tədu (Pra-Proto-Austronesian)
- compound *tə- (Pra-Proto-Austronesian)
- compound *duSa (Proto-Austronesian), 'two'
- compound *du- (Proto-Austronesian)
- compound *əsa (Proto-Austronesian), 'one'
- derived *tədu (Pra-Proto-Austronesian)
- inherited *walu (Proto-Austronesian), 'eight'
- inherited *walu (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian), 'eight'
Ancestors
- *walu (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian)
- *walu (Proto-Austronesian)
Cognates and doublets
- ꦮꦺꦴꦭꦸ (Javanese)
Descendants and derived words
- ikawalo (Tagalog)
- ikawalo (Tagalog)
- ikawalong kababalaghan ng daigdig (Tagalog)
- kulang sa pito, labis sa walo (Tagalog)
- labingwalo (Tagalog)
- walong daan (Tagalog)
- walong libo (Tagalog)
- waluhin (Tagalog)
- waluhin (Tagalog)
- walumpu (Tagalog)
- walumpu't apat (Tagalog)
- walumpu't dalawa (Tagalog)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris