Etymology
From Hokkien, possibly:
- 金底 (kim-tóe, “gold base”) according to Manuel (1948)
- 金條/金条 (kim-tiâu, “gold bar”) according to Potet (2016)
- 金豆 (kim-tāu, “piloncitos, pea-sized pieces of gold once used as a currency”) hypothesized by Potet (2016)
See also Hokkien 鍍金/镀金 (tō͘-kim, “to gold-plate; to gild”). Cognate with Kapampangan gintu.
Further reading
- “ginto”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
- Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2016) Tagalog Borrowings and Cognates, Lulu Press, →ISBN, page 338
- 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 20
- 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931–1932), “金底”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC, page 330
- 小川尚義 (OGAWA Naoyoshi), editor (1931–1932), “金豆”, in 臺日大辭典 [Taiwanese-Japanese Dictionary] (overall work in Hokkien and Japanese), Taihoku: Government-General of Taiwan, →OCLC, page 328
- Barclay, Thomas (1923) “荳 tāu. kim-tāu”, in Supplement to Dictionary of the Amoy Colloquial Language (overall work in Hokkien and English), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, page 221