kotong

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkotoŋ/ [ˈkoː.t̪oŋ]
• Rhymes: -otoŋ
• Syllabification: ko‧tong

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hokkien 股東 / 股东 (kó͘-tong, “shareholder”).

Noun

kotong (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜆᜓᜅ᜔)

1. (informal, vulgar) bribery and/or extortion
2. (informal, vulgar) bribe
3. (gambling) limited-amount winnings (when playing jueteng)
4. (Chinese Filipino, business, colloquial) shareholder; stockholder

Usage notes

• Among some Hokkien-speaking Chinese Filipinos, the term still means the same as the original Hokkien term, while speaking Tagalog, with the other definitions in Tagalog, sometimes noted or recognized as well from a mainstream Tagalog perspective.

Adjective

kotong (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜆᜓᜅ᜔)

1. (informal, vulgar, usually of law enforcement) corrupt
   • 2011, Emmett Henderson, Tagalog Down and Dirty: Filipino Obscenities, Insults, Sex Talk, Drug Slang and Gay Language in The Philippines, CreateSpace:

     ... multiple offender—balikloob car thief—bukás kotse (open car) cheating, deceiving—buladas gangster—butangero contraband, smuggled goods— kontrabando bribe—kotong; soborno corrupt police—pulís kotong (police bribe) snitch, stool ...

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• kotongan
• kumotong
• mangotong

 

Related terms

• tong

 

Descendants

• ⇒ English: kotong cop

See also

• buwaya
• iskalawag

 

Etymology 2

Noun

kotong (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜆᜓᜅ᜔)

1. (colloquial) Alternative form of kutong

Further reading

• “kotong”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018