Bisaya

Noun

 * 1) Visayan person

Noun

 * 1) Visayan dialect continuum
 * 2) Cebuano language

Adjective

 * 1) Visayan

Usage notes
In the sense of "Visayan person", often denotes a person who is ethnically Cebuano in addition to the peoples of the Visayas in general. People who speak a Visayan language, but is not ethnically Visayan or from the Visayas region, such as the natives of Masbate or southern Sorsogon, do not consider themselves Visayan.

Hiligaynon/Ilonggo and Waray are also considered Visayans, and also call their respective languages "Bisaya" in addition to autonyms, but they would prefer being called by their respective ethnonyms instead. In the regions in the Visayas where they are native to (Panay and Negros, and Samar and Leyte), "Bisaya" usually denotes a Cebuano speaker.

Etymology
. Possibly related to, according to Potet (2016). Compare 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬,, ,. Other theories include:


 * From, from . During the 1950s to the 1960s, various authors have claimed that Bisaya is derived from Sri Vijaya, claiming the early settlers of Panay were either from Sri Vijaya or subjects of Sri Vijaya. However, linguist Eugene Verstraelen refutes these claims by pointing out that Vijaya would have been "Bidaya" or "Biraya". Compare.
 * From which would have been what Indian traders and/or pirates might have described the settlers of Panay.

Noun

 * 1) Visayan person

Proper noun

 * 1) Cebuano language

Usage notes
Most speakers of the language, while speaking in Cebuano, would usually call the language as Bisaya or Binisaya. Speakers outside Cebu may refuse to call the language Cebuano since the language is also used in other parts of the Visayas and Mindanao. In Cebu, and in media, the language is called Sinugboanon. Cebuano, as a name of the language, is almost only used in English.

Furthermore, other similar languages under the Visayan language continuum refers their language also as Bisaya or Binisaya, but in most instances they call their own language in their exonym to avoid confusion.

Adjective

 * 1) Visayan

Proper noun

 * 1) any of the Visayan language
 * 2)  Cebuano
 * 1)  Cebuano

Etymology
, of uncertain origin, possibly. Possibly related to 🇨🇬, according to Potet (2016). Compare, , , 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬. Other theories include:


 * From 🇨🇬, from 🇨🇬. During the 1950s to the 1960s, various authors have claimed that Bisaya is derived from Sri Vijaya, claiming the early settlers of Panay were either from Sri Vijaya or subjects of Sri Vijaya. However, linguist Eugene Verstraelen refutes these claims by pointing out that Vijaya would have been "Bidaya" or "Biraya". Compare 🇨🇬, from 🇨🇬.
 * From 🇨🇬 which would have been what Indian traders and/or pirates might have described the settlers of Panay.

Adjective

 * 1) Visayan

Noun

 * 1) Visayan
 * 2) Visayan
 * 3) Cebuano
 * 4)  Cebuano language
 * 1)  Cebuano language

Usage notes
In the noun senses, speakers most commonly use this term to denote an ethnic, a  speaker, and the. (in the broader sense of natives of the ), beside, such as and , also refer to their respective native languages as "Bisaya", but their respective speakers often use the demonym "Bisaya" to mean  instead of  in general, thus, using "Bisaya" in that broader sense (Cebuanos aside) is usually confusing and/or offensive.

speakers outside of province generally use "Bisaya" for the  varieties in, and the local varieties of  usually have their own names (e.g. Boholano, Kana).

In, there are also ethnic groups like the and  who speak a  besides ,  or , but they would use "Bisaya" to refer to a  or  speaker (and their respective languages as well); calling them or their native language "Bisaya" instead of their respective local name is confusing and/or offensive. Nevertheless, "Bisaya" is the preferred ethnonym for native speakers in  who do not necessarily descend from the  of, and the , in turn, is called Binisaya, as a result of migrant ethnic groups from Luzon and indigenous Mindanaoans assimilation into the majority Cebuano-speaking society over the years because Mindanao is a melting pot of cultures due to the migrants from Luzon and Visayas moving to their new homelands in Mindanao seeking economic opportunities mainly in agriculture since the early 20th century.