A significant number of Tagalog words begin with the Proto-Austronesian prefix *kali/qali, which are described by Blust (2009:368) as implying a “sensitive connection with the spirit world.” The *kali/qali words present in the modern-day Tagalog language are a legacy of the Tagalog people’s animist past.
The Tagalog *kali/qali words below have been selected from Carl Rubino’s Tagalog-English, English-Tagalog Dictionary (2002).
*kali/qali words are widespread among Austronesian languages, and are found from Taiwan to Oceania. The majority of these words are four syllables long (Blust 2001).
Proto-Austronesian reconstructions of interest include *qanitu “spirit, soul” (Zorc) and *balian “shaman” (Blust).
batálà - Asian fairy bluebird (Irena cyrogaster), observed closely for omens. Regarded by precolonial Tagalogs as the harbinger and messenger of chief god Bathala
bulihala' - a fowl with ashy feathers and black legs; (slang) management; care; responsibility
kalangay - cockatoo
kalapati - dove, pigeon
kalapnít - species of small bat
kalabyáng - kind of large bat
kulasisi' - parrot
halubangsâ - a kind of chicken with yellow or orange feet
alikbangon - kind of weed with oval leaves that secrete a sticky, slimy fluid
alimbukád - the process or stage in which the flower or plant gradually opens its petals, showing its beauty and vitality; efflorescence; flowering; full bloom
alingaro - species of climbing shrub with sweet fruit (Eleaeanus philippinsis)
alitbangon - species of succulent herb (Cyanetis axillaris)
alibangbáng - kind of tree with long pods and pink to purple flowers
alupág - species of tree (Nephelium glabrum)
alugbati - Malabar night shade herb with red stems and edible spinach-like leaves
alusiman - purslane = any of a family (Portulacaceae, the purslane family) of cosmopolitan usually succulent herbs
kulasiman - species of purslane
balaba' - whole leaf or joint of bananas or palms
balakbák - dried bark
balanoy - sweet basil
balanggót - species of aquatic reed
balatong - mungo bean (Phaseolus mungo)
balayong - species of tree (Pahudia rhomboidea; tindalo)
baliti' - species of tree; manacle, restraining object
balubad - cashew
balukanád - species of tree whose seeds are used for oil (Aleurites moluccana)
bantalínaw - species of tree whose bark is used for cough medicine (Diospyros pilosanthera)
bulakán - kind of vine whose leaves are used as a shampoo
bulung-ita - kind of shrub with edible fruits (Diospyros philosanthera)
dalupang - kind of shrub with reddish branches
daluro' - cork tree
halibutbót - windmill bush (Tabernaemontana pandacaqui)
halimúmog - an endemic Philippine tree species with fragrant smell (Ehretia philippinensis)
halubágat - (Capparis micracantha)
kalamansí' - calamansi
kalantás - species of tree with red aromatic wood
kalatsutsi - frangipani tree
kalatsutsi' - temple flower tree
kalumpáng - wild almond tree
kalumpít - kind of tree
talang - species of tree
kalipkíp - kind of creeping vine
kalisag - spine; bristles
kalumbibít - kind of prickly vine
karadapdáp - kind of tree with red flowers
lingat - kind of fleshy herb with creepy, hairy rootstock
kulasiman - species of purslane
kulat - kind of fungus (taingang-dagá' )
kulatay - Bermuda grass
kulatkulat - species of fungus
kulis - kind of shrub whose roots are used for certain irregularities in menstruation
kulutan - Chinese burr shrub
kulutkutan - kind of shrub with reddish branches
malinggá - kind of vine, known also as kondól
maliputó - jackfish; pompano
maliputóng-laut - cavalla
nila' - indigo plant
palisan - kind of small tree
pálukálay - a tall hardwood tree species (Alphonsea arborea)
salingbúbog - sacred garlic pear; temple tree (Crataeva religiosa)
salúyot - Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius)
sulá-sulasihan (root: sulasi) - kind of fragrant herb (Leucas aspera)
talampúnay - devil's trumpet (Datura metel)
talisay - species of shade tree
taraumpalit - species of plant with purple flowers
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our tepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation's hoop. — Black Elk in Black Elk Speaks (1961), Ch. 17: The First Cure.
aligutgót - entangled; trouble, mischief
alimpuso' - knot of wood
alipuyó - whirlpool
alimpuyó - whirl, eddy
alimusod - cone; funnel-shaped object
alimulón - cone-shaped
alinugnóg - spinning
aliyun - an irregular action such as undulating, rippling or waving movement of groups, herds, clouds, wind, or smoke; eddy
bulalakaw - shooting star; meteor [cf. Proto-Philippines *bulalakaw 'kind of nature spirit, probably identified with the appearance of a comet' (Blust 2001:57)]
dalumóy - low, dark clouds
halumigmíg - humid, damp
talang - red skies at sunset
limbo - halo (of moon)
kulimlím - dark, overcast
palunghô - an extremely strong and devastating storm
salirangdáng - distance of a thing from one end to another; dimension; measure; breadth; width; span
salubong - meeting; reception; welcoming upon arrival
salukoy - the prime or most excellent part of a thing; time of intensity; culminating part of an action; to be in the prime of youth; the flower of youth; adolescence; time of growth; most busy time of sowing, harvesting or thrashing; epoch, season, or time (of something)
salupakaná - vulgar, perverse, or obscene use of language
salupinít - not grown or reared well (plants, animals, humans); (by extension) an ill mannered person; bad; immoral; evil
salurapâ - obsession; extreme fondness, admiration, or love
salúsog - going down in the river in search of something
talagháy - courage to endure pain, suffering, misfortune
talamitam - intimacy
talampak - patent; frank; unreserved
talangkás - gracefulness or beauty of movement, gait, posture or expression
talikakás - unwavering persistence and determination
talikóp - encircle; besiege
talilos - coarseness of speech; rude; vulgarity
talimangmáng - hoax; ruse; deceit
talimbuhól - vow; promise; utterance and exchange of marriage vows during the ceremony
talimuwáng - pretend to be ignorant, especially to avoid responsibility; alternatively, use clever and sophistic reasoning to evade blame, duty, or responsibility
talingdáw - ancient, dramatic boat song sung during certain domestic activities
talisuyò - good relations or bonds of affection maintained by mutual exchange of favours (between persons, organizations, communities, or nations)
taliwakás - retraction; revocation; nullification; abandonment of what one agreed to do synonyms; breaking off; ending (of a relationship, speech, etc.)
talubatâ - early middle-aged: between twenty-five and thirty-five years old
talubò - fertile ground; appropriate, befitting and favourable place or environment to grow plants or rear and educate children
tálugantí - severe, harsh or grave words uttered in a heated debate or argument
taluhimig - ambiguous meaning or signification; equivocal; double-meaning
taluidyap - twinkling of the eye; in a short period of time; extremely fast; rapid
Blust, Robert. 2000. "Rat Ears, Tree Ears, Ghost Ears and Thunder Ears in Austronesian Languages." In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 156 (2000), no: 4, Leiden, 687-706.
Blust, Robert A. 2001. "Historical morphology and the spirit world: *qali/kali-prefixes in Austronesian languages." In John Bradshaw and Kenneth L. Rehg (eds.) Issues in Austronesian Morphology. A festschrift for Byron W. Bender. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, 15-73.
Blust, Robert A. 2009. The Austronesian Languages. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. →ISBN, →ISBN.
Rubino, Carl R. Galvez. 2002. Tagalog-English English-Tagalog Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books.
