m   

magic:   black magic

Malay probably borrowed from Javanese, possibly through the medium of a Tagalog dialect (though Panganiban does not list a cognate form for Standard Tagalog). The resemblance of Tetun to Malay, Javanese and Sasak is attributed to chance.

make amends

manner:   action, manner

mark:   to mark, designate

Dempwolff (1938) reconstructed ‘Uraustronesisch’ *teges ‘to mark, designate’ (bezeichnen).

marker:   causative marker

marker:   past tense marker

Apparently reconstructible for PCEP. The Paiwan and Amis forms disagree in pointing to *Si and *i respectively. I take the resemblance of PCEP *i to all other forms cited here as a product of chance.

marker:   plural marker

marrow

marry:   wedding, to marry

Borrowing from Malay. Wilkinson (1959) suggests that this may ultimately be a loan from Persian.

mat:   lining, mat

mat

The similarity of Bidayuh (Bukar-Sadong) ambok to the northern Philippine forms is due to chance.

mat

material:   tying material

mean, cruel

meet

meet

meet, come across by chance

These two have probably met by chance, as no other supporting evidence for this comparison is known.

melt, smelt

melt

Based on this comparison Dempwolff (1938) proposed ‘Uraustronesisch’ *labur ‘to melt’. I am unable to find the Tagalog form in any source available to me, and the similarity of these forms seems in any case better attributed to borrowing from Malay, chance or both.

membrane:   covering membrane of plants

menses, menstruation

menses, menstruation

mention

Dempwolff (1938) proposed *sebut ‘mention, refer to’, but the Fijian form is phonologically irregular, and the Ngaju Dayak and Javanese forms could be loans from Malay.

metal:   iron (metal)

Richards (1981:28) compares the Iban form with Malay keris bahari ‘kris with a long, narrow, straight blade’. Other terms that may be related are Thao balis ‘iron (metal)’, and Kavalan baris ‘nail’. However, the Thao word is clearly a loan, probably from Bunun (although our lexicographic resources for the latter are insufficient to determine this with certainty), and the semantically deviant Kavalan form evidently reflects a prototype with medial *l rather than *r or *R (Li and Tsuchida 2006:8). By way of counterbalancing these problems, there is a second comparison (Palawan Batak karát ‘rusty’, Malay karat ‘rust’) which provides independent support for an early knowledge of iron. On balance, this is perhaps best regarded as a chance resemblance, but the number of suggestive forms and the potential value of a comparison with this meaning keeps hope alive. The term *bari is discussed at some length in Blust (1976) and Blust (1999), where it is suggested that it may have referred to meteoric iron.

middle

Dempwolff (1938) reconstructed ‘Uraustronesisch’ *teleŋ ‘middle’ (Mitte).

mildew:   mold mildew

misbehaving

mold mildew

moment:   a moment ago, in a moment

moment:   a moment ago, in a moment

monkey

monkey

moo:   to low, moo

The resemblance of Ilokano úga and of Rarotongan uŋō/ to the other forms and to one another is attributed to chance.

moor a boat:   stop by, to moor a boat

Based on this comparison Dempwolff (1938) proposed ‘Urindonesisch’ *tuli ‘to moor; stop by to visit’ (Einkehren, Anlegen).

mountain:   slope, mountain side

move:   sway, move

mushroom