ABSTRACT
Based on the comparison Tagalog I bulawl 'reddish, reddish-gold; golden orange (said of young pigs and roosters), with Ngaju Dayak Ibulawl 'gold' Dempwolff also reconstructed *bulaw 'reddish gleam'. Again, this comparison can be extended: Ilokano Ibolawl 'a cock with dark brownish-yellow or drab plumage', Thao (central Taiwan) Ima-bulawl 'golden-yellow, as ripened rice', I mim-bulawl 'becoming golden-yellow, as ripening rice'. Although Thao Ibulawl is a loan (expected **furaw), it presumably has been borrowed from another Formosan language, perhaps a northern Bunun dialect. Given its meaning in most languages, PAN *bulaw would seem to have little bearing on the questions addressed here. What makes it relevant is the appearance of a suffixed form of the same word meaning 'gold (the metal)'. The essential (not full) evidence for PAN *bulaw-an 'gold' is as follows:
PHILIPPINES: Itbayaten Ivoxawanl 'gold'. Kankanay Ibulawanl 'gold'. Bikol IbuIawl 'sandy coloured, gold coloured; blond; albino'; Ibulawani 'gold'. Hanunoo Ibulawanl 'gold'. Palawan Batak Ibulawanl 'gold'. Aklanon Ibueawanl 'gold'. Cebuano Bisayan Ibulawanl 'gold'. Mansaka Iborawanl 'gold'. Maranao Ibolawanl 'gold'.
