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kawani. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
kawani, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
kawani in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Tagalog
Etymology
From ka- + wani, according to Panganiban (1972).
Alternatively, borrowed from Malay kerani (“clerk”) (written in Jawi as کراني), ultimately from Tamil கிராணி (kirāṇi, “clerk”) or from Sanskrit करण (karaṇa, “scribe”). Theories on the linkage from Malay include:
- According to Potet (2016), when the word was introduced to Tagalog, the Jawi letter ر (r) was probably mistaken for the letter و (w).
- According to Zorc (1981), the /r/ possibly shifted to /l/ when borrowed then the /l/ was lost later on and became /w/.
Pronunciation
Noun
kawaní or kawani (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜏᜈᜒ)
- (formal) employee
- Synonyms: empleado, tauhan
- kawani ng pamahalaan ― government employee
- helper; aid; assistant
- Synonyms: katulong, katulungin
Derived terms
See also
Adjective
kawaní or kawani (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜏᜈᜒ)
- working as an employee or helper
Further reading
- “kawani” at KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2021
- “kawani”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
- Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier
- Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2016) Tagalog Borrowings and Cognates, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 103
- Panganiban, José Villa (1973) Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (overall work in Tagalog and English), Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing Co., page 276
- Zorc, David Paul (1981) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 2, page 83