dilaw

Ambala Ayta

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog dilaw.

Adjective

dilaw

1. yellow

References

• Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• dilao, dilau — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dilaw (“turmeric; yellow”). Compare Ilocano duyaw, Pangasinan duyaw, Kapampangan dilo, Aklanon dueaw, and Cebuano dulaw.

The political senses' origin can be traced from the song Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree, a song recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn, which was chosen to be played by friends and supporters of Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr. to welcome him for his return to the Philippines on August 21, 1983 after three years from his self-imposed exile in the United States. The song told a story of a released prisoner of coincidentally, also three long years, and is uncertain whether his girlfriend will welcome him home so the prisoner wrote a letter to his girlfriend to tie a yellow ribbon around the “ole oak tree” to signify that he is welcome to go home. Following Aquino's assassination on the same day of his return, the yellow ribbon and color became a symbol associated with Aquino and the opposition led by his widowed wife, Corazon Aquino, against the Marcos regime.

The term has been used by politicians to attack allies of PDP-LABAN, Ninoy Aquino's political party at the time, back in the 1980s. Its usage has been revived after Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III, son of Ninoy Aquino, ran for presidency for the 2010 Philippine presidential election under the Liberal Party of the Philippines, with yellow as his campaign color after the death of Corazon Aquino. Ninoy Aquino also was a senator who formerly ran under the Liberal Party. Hence, the color associated with the Aquinos also became associated with the Liberal Party and liberalism itself locally.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /diˈlaw/ [d̪ɪˈlaʊ̯]
• Rhymes: -aw
• Syllabification: di‧law

Adjective

diláw (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜒᜎᜏ᜔)

1. yellow

   Synonym: amarilyo

2. (Philippine politics, slang) liberal; of the Liberal Party

   Synonyms: dilawan, Liberal

Noun

diláw (Baybayin spelling ᜇᜒᜎᜏ᜔)

1. yellow

   Synonym: amarilyo

2. (botany) turmeric (Curcuma longa)

   Synonym: luyang-dilaw

3. (pathology) jaundice

   Synonym: ikterisya

4. (Philippine politics, slang) Liberal Party of the Philippines

   Synonyms: Partido Liberal, Lapiang Liberal

Derived terms

• dilaw na mapusyaw
• dilaw na mura
• dilawan
• dilawdinsol
• dumilaw
• luyang-dilaw
• madilaw
• madilaw-dilaw
• magpadilaw
• manilaw
• padilawin
• paninilaw
• pinklawan
• sutmondilaw

 

Related terms

• Dilao
• Marilao

 

Descendants

• → Ambala Ayta: dilaw

See also

Colors in Tagalog · kulay (layout · text)

puti	abo, gris	itim
pula; krimson, pulang-pula	kahel; kayumanggi	dilaw; krema
kulay-dayap	lungti, lungtian, berde
turkesa	bughaw-langit, asul	bughaw, asul
lila, biyoleta; nila, tayom	mahenta; ube, morado, haban, purpura	rosas, kalimbahin

• barak

Further reading

• “dilaw”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*diláw”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎^[1], La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 51: “Amarillo) Dilao (pc) color”
  • page 514: “Raiz) Dilao (pc) amarilla”
  • page 572: “Teñir) Dilao (pc) de amarillo”