tao-tao

Tagalog

Etymology

Reduplication of tao. The word does not exist in older dictionaries and may have been a recent coinage patterned from other Philippine languages, which were derived from Proto-Philippine *tau-tau (“pupil (eye)”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tau tau, from Proto-Austronesian *Cau Cau (“pupil of the eye”), reduplication of *Cau (“person”). Compare Tagalog balintataw, Ilocano tao-tao, Kapampangan telataung-mata / balintatau, Bikol Central alintataw / tatawo, Cebuano tawo-tawo, and Tausug tau-tau mata.

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˌtaʔo ˈtaʔo/ [ˌt̪aː.ʔo ˈt̪aː.ʔo]
  • Rhymes: -aʔo
  • Syllabification: ta‧o-ta‧o

Noun

tao-tao (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜂᜆᜂ)

  1. (anatomy) pupil (of the eye)
    Synonyms: balintataw, inla, alikmata

Further reading

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