kuwan

Bikol Central

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuˈan/ [kuˈwan̪]
• Hyphenation: ku‧wan

Noun

kuwán (Basahan spelling ᜃᜓᜏᜈ᜔)

1. so-and-so, whatchamacallit

   Synonyms: kuyan, ano

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• coan, couan — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography

Etymology

Possibly either from the following:

• From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kuan (“to speak, talk”), or derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kua (“whatchamacallit”). Cognate with Ilocano kua, Cebuano kuan, Bikol Central kuwan, Tausug kuwan, Karo Batak er-kuan (“to speak”), and Tontemboan kuan (“what is said or thought”). See also Kapampangan kayi.
• From Sanskrit क्व (kva, “somewhere”), according to Potet (2016).
• From a corruption of Spanish cuál (“what”), according to Panganiban (1973). See also Spanish cuan.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /kuˈan/ [ˈkwan̪]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: ku‧wan

Noun

kuwán (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜏᜈ᜔)

1. so-and-so, whatchamacallit (placeholder name for a person or thing)

   Synonyms: ano, eme, kiyeme

   Nakita mo ba si kuwan? Ipapadala niya kasi dapat yung kuwan ko sa kuwan.

   Did you see the guy? Because he's supposed to send my thing to the place.

Derived terms

• kumuwan
• magkuwan
• magpakuwan
• makikuwan

 

See also

• ano

 

Further reading

• “kuwan”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2016) Tagalog Borrowings and Cognates, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 286
• Panganiban, José Villa (1973) Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (overall work in Tagalog and English), Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing Co., page 327
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎^[1], La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 327: “Fulano) Covan [(pc)] bordonçillo que tienen eſtos como en eſpañol como [ſe llama], pero eſtos ncada paſo lo diçen como noſe acuerden del nombre propio, vt. [ſi covan] [ſi caſambil], ſulano caſambil.”
  • page 358: “Hulano) Covan [(pc)] bordonçillo vſado entre eſtos ſiao ſe acuerdan de lo quee van a deçir, vt. covã dico naalala, como ſe diço a que nome acuerdo, ſi covan, hulano”
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*kuan₂”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*kua-n”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Anagrams

• kunwa