taeng-bituin

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• taing bituin

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *taqi nu bituqən. By surface analysis, tae (“feces”) +‎ bituin (“star”). Compare Pangasinan tai-bitewen (“shooting star”, literally “feces star”), Kapampangan taklang-batuin (“shooting star”, literally “feces star”), Malay tahi bintang (“shooting star”, literally “feces star”), and Hokkien 疶屎星 (chhoah-sái-chhiⁿ, “shooting star”, literally “diarrhea star”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˌtaʔeŋ bituˈʔin/ [ˌt̪aː.ʔɛm bɪ.t̪ʊˈʔɪn̪]
    • Rhymes: -in
  • IPA^(key): /ˌtaʔeŋ bituˈin/ [ˌt̪aː.ʔɛm bɪˈt̪wɪn̪] (colloquial)
• Syllabification: ta‧eng-bi‧tu‧in

Noun

taeng-bituín (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜁᜅ᜔ᜊᜒᜆᜓᜁᜈ᜔) (astronomy)

1. meteor; shooting star

   Synonyms: bulalakaw, meteoro, bituing-alpas, bituing-may-sumbol, (obsolete) sulong-mangayaw

2. meteorite; tektite

   Synonym: (neologism) bulalato

Further reading

• “taeng-bituin”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “taeng-bituin”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018.
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de; Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860), Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves, y coordinado por…, ultimamente aumentado y corregido por varios religiosos de la Orden de Agustinos calzados.‎ (overall work in Spanish and Classical Tagalog), Manila: Ramírez y Giraudier.
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Caqi”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI