dambuhala

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• dambohala — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay jambuara (“monster fish”), ultimately from a Minangkabau origin. Compare Kapampangan dambuala and Cebuano dambuala.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /dambuˈhalaʔ/ [d̪ɐm.bʊˈhaː.lɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -alaʔ
• Syllabification: dam‧bu‧ha‧la

Noun

dambuhalà (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜋ᜔ᜊᜓᜑᜎ)

1. huge animal; monster
2. giant

   Synonyms: higante, tandayag

   • 2003, “The Spageti Song”, in Lito Camo (lyrics), Lito Camo (music), Round 2, performed by Sexbomb Girls ft. Joey De Leon:

     Ayokong pumayat, ayokong tumaba, Ayoko ring matulad sa isang dambuhala

     I don't wanna be thin, I don't wanna be fat, I also don't wanna be like a giant

3. (botany) medium-sized tree with oblong leaves with fascicled flowers and subellipsoid fruit (Diospyros pilosanthera)

   Synonyms: alintataw, balatinaw, bulung-ita, katilma, talang-gubat

4. (zoology, originally obsolete) whale

   Synonyms: balyena, tandayag

5. (zoology, obsolete) giant shark

See also

• pating

References

• “dambuhala”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• 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 592: “Vallena) Dambohala (pp) peſcado grande, otros dicen es tiburon grande.”
• Wolff, John U. (1976) “Malay borrowings in Tagalog”, in C.D. Cowan & O.W. Wolters, editors, Southeast Asian History and Historiography: Essays Presented to D. G. E. Hall‎^[2], Ithaca: Cornell University Press, page 365
• Zorc, David Paul (1982) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 3, page 114

Further reading

• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “jambuara”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilini, Yunani: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 442