kikyam

Tagalog

Kikiam Streetfood

Kikiam Dish Topping

Alternative forms

• kikiam, kekyam
• que-quian, que-kiam
• kikiyam, kuwekyam — dated

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien, the first syllable of which most likely is from 雞／鸡 (ke, “chicken”) (as noted by Manuel (1948), though the chief ingredient of the dish nowadays is pork). The second syllable is unclear, though it may possibly be from:

• From 繭／茧 (kián, “cocoon”). Compare Taiwanese Hokkien 肉繭／肉茧 (bah-kián, “ngo hiang”).
• From 鹹／咸 (kiâm, “viand; rice topping”). See also kiyampong, tawkiam.
• From 卷 (kńg, “roll”). Compare 雞卷／鸡卷 (koe-kńg, “ngo hiang”), though unlikely since dialects that use the pronunciation "ke" for 雞／鸡 would use "kúiⁿ" for 卷.

The slang sense is from the first syllable being homophonous to the last syllable of puki according to Zorc (1993).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkikjam/ [ˈkik.jɐm], /kikˈjam/ [kɪkˈjam]
• Rhymes: -ikjam, -am
• Syllabification: kik‧yam

Noun

kikyam or kikyám (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜒᜃ᜔ᜌᜋ᜔)

1. kikiam (Philippine variant of ngo hiang)
2. (slang) vagina

   Synonyms: puke, kiki

See also

• agridulse
• kiyampong

 

References

• “kikyam”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Zorc, David Paul (1981) Core Etymological Dictionary of Filipino: Part 2, page 106
• 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 34
• Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993) Tagalog Slang Dictionary, Manila: De La Salle University Press, →ISBN, page 117
• Barclay, Thomas (1923) “繭 *kién - koe-kién”, in Supplement to Dictionary of the Amoy Colloquial Language (overall work in Hokkien and English), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, page 104
• Barclay, Thomas (1923) “鷄 koe - koe-kién”, in Supplement to Dictionary of the Amoy Colloquial Language (overall work in Hokkien and English), Shanghai: The Commercial Press, Limited, page 116