kuwekong

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• kwekong — nonstandard

Etymology

Possibly from Hokkien, possibly either:

• 雞公／鸡公 (koe-kong, “pimp; rooster; cock”) according to Chan-Yap (1980), but the exact pronunciation POJ: "koe-kong" is unrecorded in the typical historical Hokkien dictionaries, since this term is typically used by Zhangzhou Hokkien and Xiamen Hokkien dialects, which the historically relevant Zhangzhou Hokkien-descended Early Manila Hokkien in the Philippines centuries ago that typically used 雞公／鸡公 (ke-kang, “rooster; cock”), typically pronounced the term as /kei˧ kaŋ˨˦/ back then, of which phonologically disagrees with the resultant word, kuwekong, which perhaps may have later been influenced by Quanzhou Hokkien-descended Philippine Hokkien 雞／鸡 (koe) +‎ 公 (kong). See also Zhangzhou Hokkien 雞母／鸡母 (ke-bó, “hen; female brothel keeper; procuress”), Singapore Hokkien 叫雞／叫鸡 (kiò-koe, “to visit a female prostitute”), Indonesian ayam (“chicken; fowl; female prostitute; slut”).
• 龜公／龟公 (kui-kong, “brothelkeeper; brothel owner; pimp”), according to Manuel (1948), but the exact term is also unrecorded in the typical historical Hokkien dictionaries. See also 烏龜／乌龟 (o͘-kui, “male brothel owner; cuckold; man whose wife or daughter is a prostitute”), 烏龜頭／乌龟头 (o͘-kui-thâu, “male brothel owner”), Cantonese 龜公／龟公 (gwai¹ gung¹, “pimp”), Mandarin 龜公／龟公 (guīgōng, “pimp”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /kuˈekoŋ/ [ˈkwɛː.xoŋ]
• Rhymes: -ekoŋ
• Syllabification: ku‧we‧kong

Noun

kuwekong (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜓᜏᜒᜃᜓᜅ᜔)

1. pimp; procurer; pander; person that manages prostitutes

   Synonyms: bugaw, alkahuwete

Further reading

• “kuwekong” at KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino‎^[1], Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2021
• “kuwekong”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• 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
• Manuel, E. Arsenio (1948) Chinese elements in the Tagalog language: with some indication of Chinese influence on other Philippine languages and cultures and an excursion into Austronesian linguistics, Manila: Filipiniana Publications, page 34