barya

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• bariya

Etymology

From an earlier variant, bariya, from Early Modern Spanish barilla which used to refer to the Spanish-era copper coins minted in the Philippines. The Spanish ⟨ll⟩ became Tagalog ⟨y⟩, due to yeísmo of Philippine Spanish speakers during the early to middle Spanish colonial period, and the stress shifted to the last syllable, from /baˈɾija/ to /baɾiˈja/, and the ⟨i⟩ between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨y⟩ was elided.

Some sources, like Zorc (1979), also suggest it to be from Spanish varia, through variar (“to change; to alter”), which Potet (2016) notes as a mistake during the American colonial era by interpreting the word to mean "to change into small coins; to exchange". However, Potet (2016) notes that the Spanish term for loose change is Spanish vuelta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baɾˈja/, [bɐɾˈja]
• Hyphenation: bar‧ya

Noun

baryá (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜇ᜔ᜌ)

1. loose change (small, loose money in coins or notes of small denominations)

   Synonyms: sensilyo, mulay, muyag

   Barya lang po ang tinatanggap sa umaga.

   Only loose change will be accepted in the morning.

Derived terms

• baryahin
• ibarya
• magbarya
• pagbabarya
• pambarya

 

See also

• sukli

 

Further reading

• “barya” at KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino‎^[1], Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2021
• Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2016) Numbers and Units in Old Tagalog, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 139
• Zorc, David Paul (1979–1983) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 1, page 42