agimat

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• aguimat — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography

Etymology

Borrowed from Maguindanao agimat (“amulet; talisman”) or Tausug ajimat (“amulet; talisman”), from Malay azimat (عزيمة), from Arabic عَزِيمَة (ʕazīmat), the informal construct state of عزيمة (ʕazīma). Compare Maranao adimat and Tausug adjimat.

The “amulet; talisman” sense is first attested in c. 1860 via Noceda & Sanlucar, with the term arriving in the Philippines in the first half of the 1800s according to Potet (2013), while the homophonous "thrift; care" sense is attested since c. 1754 also via Noceda & Sanlucar according to Potet (2013). See also Malay jimat (“frugal; prudent; saving money”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈɡimat/, [ʔɐˈɣi.mɐt]
• Rhymes: -imat
• Syllabification: a‧gi‧mat

Noun

agimat (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜄᜒᜋᜆ᜔)

1. amulet; talisman; charm

   Synonyms: anting-anting, galing, dupil

2. (slang) methamphetamine; crystal meth

   Synonyms: bato, shabu

3. care; concern
4. anxiety; worry
5. (formerly obsolete, now neologism) thrift; economy

   Synonyms: pagtitipid, pag-iimpok

Derived terms

• agimatan
• agimatin
• dalub-agimat
• maagimat
• ulnuagimatin

 

See also

• gulo

References

• “agimat”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Potet, Jean-Paul G. (2013) Arabic and Persian Loanwords in Tagalog, Lulu Press, →ISBN, pages 162-164
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves‎^[1] (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier