kiyaw-kiyaw

Tagalog

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien, according to English (1987) and Panganiban (1973). According to Chan-Yap (1980), it comes from Hokkien “kiaù-kiaù”, which she defines as “incessant”, as in “kiaù+kiaù+k^haǔ” with the latter verb she mentions as Hokkien 哭 (khàu). The “kiaù-kiaù” she refers to may possibly be Hokkien 攪攪 / 搅搅 (kiáu-kiáu) or 噭噭 (kiàu-kiàu) as found in Ogawa (1932). Compare Cebuano kyawkyaw and Hokkien 噭噭叫 (kiàu-kiàu-kiò, “with all voices in a jumble”).

Pronunciation

(Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /kiˌaw kiˈaw/ [ˌkjaʊ̯ ˈkjaʊ̯]
Rhymes: -aw
Syllabification: ki‧yaw-ki‧yaw

Noun

kiyáw-kiyáw (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜒᜌᜏ᜔ᜃᜒᜌᜏ᜔)

nonsensical complaints or moanings; useless fretting or worry; incessant nagging; rumbling; flurry
Synonyms: kiyaw, kuskós-balungos
unnecessary details or action that slows down the work
Synonym: kuntil-butil

Derived terms

makiyaw-kiyaw

“kiyaw-kiyaw”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2024
“kiyaw-kiyaw”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
English, Leo James (1987) Tagalog-English dictionary, Manila, Philippines: National Book Store, →ISBN, page 340
Panganiban, José Villa (1973) Diksyunaryo-Tesauro Pilipino-Ingles (overall work in Tagalog and English), Quezon City: Manlapaz Publishing Co., page 294
Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993) Tagalog Slang Dictionary, Manila: De La Salle University Press, →ISBN, page 79
Zorc, David Paul (1981) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 2, page 90
Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980) “Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog”, in Pacific Linguistics, volume B, number 71 (PDF), Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University, page 133
小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931–1932), “攪攪”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary]‎^[1] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC