balimbing

English

Etymology

From Tagalog balimbing.

Noun

balimbing (plural balimbings)

1. (Philippines) Alternative form of belimbing (“star fruit”)
2. (Philippine politics) A turncoat; one who defects to the other side in politics; one who switches political parties

Cebuano

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baliŋbiŋ. Compare Bikol Central balimbing, Tausug baymbing, and Malay belimbing.

Noun

balimbing

1. Averrhoa carambola; a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae
2. the fruit of this tree; carambola; star fruit

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• balingbing

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baliŋbiŋ. Compare Bikol Central balimbing, Tausug baymbing, and Malay belimbing. The senses involving treachery alludes to the fruit's multifaceted appearance when viewed from the side.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /balimˈbiŋ/ [bɐ.lɪmˈbɪŋ]
• Rhymes: -iŋ
• Syllabification: ba‧lim‧bing

Noun

balimbíng (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜒᜅ᜔)

1. carambola (Averrhoa carambola)

   Synonym: karambola

2. star fruit; carambola fruit
3. sideburns; side whiskers

   Synonym: patilya

4. (politics, figurative, slang) traitor; turncoat; politician who switch political parties

   Synonyms: doblekara, taksil, traydor

   • year unknown, Kawil Iv' 2002 Ed., Rex Bookstore, Inc. (→ISBN), page 29:

     Nakita ngayon si Buyok na nagpayo sa kanyang pumunta sa Kongreso dahil maraming balimbing doon.

Derived terms

• balimbingan
• bumalimbing

Descendants

• → Spanish: balimbín

Adjective

balimbíng (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜒᜅ᜔)

1. (figurative) treacherous; disloyal

Further reading

• “balimbing”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*baliŋbiŋ”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI