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, 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

Related terms

• balintataw

 

Further reading

• “tao-tao” at KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino‎^[1], Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2021