kikyam

Tagalog

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien, the first syllable of which most likely is from  / (ke, chicken) (as noted by Manuel (1948), though the chief ingredient of the dish nowadays is pork). The second syllable is unclear, though it may possibly be from:

  • From  / (kián, cocoon). Compare Taiwanese Hokkien 肉繭 / 肉茧 (bah-kián, ngo hiang).
  • From  / (kiâm, viand; rice topping). See also kiyampong, tawkiam.
  • From (kńg, roll). Compare 雞卷 / 鸡卷 (koe-kńg, ngo hiang), though unlikely since dialects that use the pronunciation "ke" for  / would use "kúiⁿ" for .

The slang sense is from the first syllable being homophonous to the last syllable of puki according to Zorc (1993).

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈkikjam/ [ˈkik.jɐm], /kikˈjam/ [kɪkˈjam]
  • Rhymes: -ikjam, -am
  • Syllabification: kik‧yam

Noun

kikyam or kikyám (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜒᜃ᜔ᜌᜋ᜔)

  1. kikiam (Philippine variant of ngo hiang)
  2. (slang) vagina
    Synonyms: puke, kiki

See also

References

  • kikyam”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
  • Zorc, David Paul (1981) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 2, page 106
  • Manuel, E. Arsenio (1948) Chinese elements in the Tagalog language: with some indication of Chinese influence on other Philippine languages and cultures and an excursion into Austronesian linguistics, Manila: Filipiniana Publications, page 34
  • Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993) Tagalog Slang Dictionary, Manila: De La Salle University Press, →ISBN, page 117
  • Barclay, Thomas (1923) “繭 *kién - koe-kién”, in Supplement to Dictionary of the Amoy Colloquial Language (overall work in Hokkien and English), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, page 104
  • Barclay, Thomas (1923) “鷄 koe - koe-kién”, in Supplement to Dictionary of the Amoy Colloquial Language (overall work in Hokkien and English), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, page 116