Old Tagalog Words used in Ancient Times

Tagalog is one of the most widely spoken languages ??in the world. Although originated from Philippines, it contains traces of other languages, such as English and Spanish. It is one of the most widely spoken languages ??other than English with an estimated two million speakers.

Tagalog is the language of the Philippine islands, the first language of most Filipinos and the second language of many others.

More interests to you all, Tagalog is the name of an ethnic group in the Philippines. The language they speak is Tagalog.

The literal translation of the word Tagalog means, “from the river.” It includes language influences from China, Malaysia, Spain and the United States. It is the result of the settlement of the Philippines with several other nations.

List of Old Tagalog Words

WordMeaning
dupilwhich is believed to have the power to save the person who owns it from any harm. The more popular Tagalog words currently being used are anting-anting and agimat. The word dupil, however, has a more pragmatic meaning for the ancients: a cover, or an object that is being used to patch a tear or break.
balatitithe word refers to a bird that provides good or bad omen, or that which can make predictions of what will happen. Now this kind of bird is a common fixture of different Filipino mythological narratives.
isalatan action word that refers to the use or infliction of witchcraft, or a secret power to inflict pain and suffering to other people. A related word is “mangisálat” (mang- is a Tagalog prefix that makes the word refer to the doer of the action), a witch who is capable of preventing someone to love and be loved.
saulupongwhich refers to a piece of powerful stone or rock. Is the term a contraction of “sa” (in, to) and “ulupong” (cobra), and perhaps its power was derived from the poison that the beast had
bukongwhich refers to the spirits of nature or of one’s ancestors. The more popular old Tagalog word is of course “anito” But unlike anito búyong also refers to a wild boar that is less than a year old.
tayarakwhich means giant, or a mythical creature with human features but is very huge and has great strength.
malinawhich refers to characteristics similar to that of a nymph that resides in bodies of water, fields, or mountains.
basong basonga golden plumage, or a thing that is made out of it, that is believed to take care of the anitos or the ancestral spirits. There were records that gold used to be in abundance in our islands, that it is not uncommon to see people decorate their body and teeth with gold.
kasanaanwhich refers to the place where demons and evil spirits who suffer because of their sins reside. It has eerie similarity to the Western notion of hell.
makawhich is the resting place of the good souls for the old Tagalogs

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