Bisa
A few months ago we looked at the object-focused Kapampángan word for “like, want”. Now let’s learn about its actor-focused counterpart!
BÍSÂ • (BEE-sa’)
(to) want to, like to (actor-focused verb)
Tagálog (Filipino): gustó
Example Sentence & ‘Buri’ Comparison
(1)
Bísá yang minum. [Kap]
Gustó niyang uminóm. [Tag]
S/he wants to drink. [Eng]
(2)
Burí néng inuman. [Kap]
Gustó niyang inumín. [Tag]
S/he wants to drink it. [Eng]
Etymology
From Sanskrit विष (viṣá) “poison”, via Malay bisa “can, be able to”, having undergone multiple semantic changes (poison > potency > power > ability > want).
False Friends
Malay / Indonesian
BISA = can, be able to
Kapampángan
BÍSÂ = want to, like to
Tagálog (Filipino)
BÍSÀ = effectiveness, potency
All of these came from Sanskrit विष (viṣá) “poison”, having undergone multiple semantic changes (poison > potency > power > ability > want).
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