singguwatse

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• singwatse, singgwatse, singguatse — nonstandard
• singkuwatse, singkwatse — obsolete
• kuwatse — obsolete, clipping

Etymology

From Chinese, possibly Hokkien 西瓜籽 (si-koa chí, “watermelon seed”) or 生瓜籽 (siⁿ-koa chí, “watermelon seed”) or Mandarin 西瓜子 (xīguāzǐ, “watermelon seed”) as per Manuel (1948).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /siŋɡuaˈt͡ʃe/ [sɪŋ.ɡwɐˈt͡ʃɛ]
• Rhymes: -e
• Syllabification: sing‧gu‧wat‧se

Noun

singguwatsé (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜅ᜔ᜄᜓᜏᜆ᜔ᜐᜒ)

1. (botany) dried and salted watermelon seed

   Synonym: butong-pakwan

Further reading

• “singguwatse”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• 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 53