alpalpa

Tagalog

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁eḱ-

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éḱwos

Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háćwas

Proto-Iranian *Hácwah

Proto-Iranian *Hástiš

Proto-Iranian *HacwaHastiš

Old Median *aspāstišder.

Arabic فَصْفَص (faṣfaṣ)bor.

Old Spanish alfalfez

Spanish alfalfabor.

Tagalog alpalpa

Borrowed from Spanish alfalfa, from Old Spanish alfalfez, from Arabic الْفَصْفَصَة (al-faṣfaṣa), from Aramaic אַסְפַּסְתָּא (ʾaspastā) / ܐܰܣܦܷܣܬܳܐ (ʾaspestā, “lucerne”), from Akkadian 𒊍𒉺𒊍𒋾 (aspastu, “presumably lucerne”), from Old Median *aspāstiš (“lucerne”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔalˈpalpa/ [ʔɐlˈpal.pɐ]
• Rhymes: -alpa
• Syllabification: al‧pal‧pa

Noun

alpalpa (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜎ᜔ᜉᜎ᜔ᜉ)

1. alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Further reading

• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 24