balimbing

English

Etymology

From Tagalog balimbing.

Noun

balimbing (plural balimbings)

1. (Philippines) Alternative form of belimbing (“star fruit”)
2. (Philippine politics) A turncoat; one who defects to the other side in politics; one who switches political parties

Cebuano

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baliŋbiŋ. Compare Bikol Central balimbing, Tausug baymbing, and Malay belimbing.

Noun

balimbing

1. Averrhoa carambola; a species of tree in the family Oxalidaceae
2. the fruit of this tree; carambola; star fruit

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• balingbing

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baliŋbiŋ. Compare Bikol Central balimbing, Tausug baymbing, and Malay belimbing.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /balimˈbiŋ/ [bɐ.lɪmˈbiŋ]
• Rhymes: -iŋ
• Syllabification: ba‧lim‧bing

Noun

balimbíng (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜒᜅ᜔)

1. carambola (Averrhoa carambola)

   Synonym: karambola

2. star fruit; carambola fruit
3. sideburns; side whiskers

   Synonym: patilya

4. (politics, figurative, slang) traitor; turncoat

   Synonyms: doblekara, taksil, traydor

   • year unknown, Kawil Iv' 2002 Ed., Rex Bookstore, Inc. (→ISBN), page 29:

     Naghahanap si Kusyong napaglilihian ng kanyang asawa—isang balimbing. Nakita ngayon si Buyok na nagpayo sa kanyang pumunta sa Kongreso dahil maraming balimbing doon. Sa palagay kaya ninyo, naniniwala si Kusyo na may ...

Derived terms

• balimbingan
• bumalimbing

Descendants

• → Spanish: balimbín

Adjective

balimbíng (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜎᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜒᜅ᜔)

1. (figurative) treacherous; disloyal

Further reading

• “balimbing”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*baliŋbiŋ”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI