pam-

Cebuano

Prefix

pam-

1. alternative spelling of pang-

Latin

Prefix

pam-

1. allomorph of pan-

Usage notes

Used before b, p, and m, and rarely before vowels.

Tagalog

Prefix

pam- (Baybayin spelling ᜉᜋ᜔)

1. Alternative form of pang-, if the root starts with bilabial consonants, such as ⟨b⟩ or ⟨p⟩, which gets nasally assimilated to the prefix ending, especially with ⟨p⟩ or sometimes ⟨b⟩.

   ‎pam- + ‎bati (“beat”) → ‎pambati (“whisk”)

   ‎pam- + ‎bahay (“house”) → ‎pambahay (“for use at home”)

   ‎pam- + ‎bura (“erasure”) → ‎pambura (“eraser”)

   ‎pam- + ‎palo (“spank”) → ‎pamalo (“spanker”)

Usage notes

• When used before root initials /b/ or /p/, the said initials sometimes undergo nasal assimilation to the prefix ending.

  ‎pam- + ‎baril (“gun”) → ‎pamamaril (“shooting”)

  ‎pam- + ‎bakod (“fence”) → ‎pamakod (“fencing (material used to make fence)”)

  ‎pam- + ‎punas (“wipe”) → ‎pamunas (“rag; wiper”)

  ‎pam- + ‎paypay (“flap of air”) → ‎pamaypay (“hand fan”)

• Native speakers sometimes use the prefix pang- by default, instead of pam- without any morpheme change to the word.

  ‎pang- + ‎punas (“wipe”) → ‎pangpunas (“wiper”, literally “for wiping”)

  ‎pang- + ‎paypay (“flap of air”) → ‎pangpaypay (literally “for fanning”)

  ‎pang- + ‎bahay (“house”) → ‎pangbahay (literally “for use at home”)

Derived terms

Tagalog terms prefixed with pam-

Further reading

• “pam-”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018