*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Sulu

From Spanish Sulu/Sulú, from Tausug Sulug (“Sulu”), an older form of Sūg (“Sulu”), possibly from Tausug sulug, an older form of sūg (“current”). Compare Maranao Solog, Malay Suluk, Hokkien 蘇祿 /苏禄 (So͘-lo̍k).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
name

A province of Mindanao, Philippines. Capital: Jolo & Patikul. · Sulu Archipelago (an archipelago of Mindanao, Philippines) · the Sultanate of Sulu · Tausug language

noun

A member of a prominent Moro tribe, occupying the Sulu Archipelago.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Spanish Sulu/Sulú, from Tausug Sulug (“Sulu”), an older form of Sūg (“Sulu”), possibly from Tausug sulug, an older form of sūg (“current”). Compare Maranao Solog, Malay Suluk, Hokkien 蘇祿 /苏禄 (So͘-lo̍k).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionJolóes
  • Derivation mentionSulugtsg · Sulu
  • Derivation mentionsulugtsg
  • Cognate mentionSologmrw
  • Cognate mentionSulukms
  • Cognate mention蘇祿nan-hbl
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "es",
        "3": "Joló",
        "alt": "Sulu/Sulú"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish Sulu/Sulú"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tsg",
        "3": "Sulug",
        "t": "Sulu"
      },
      "expansion": "Tausug Sulug (“Sulu”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tsg",
        "3": "sulug"
      },
      "expansion": "Tausug sulug"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "mrw",
        "2": "Solog"
      },
      "expansion": "Maranao Solog"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ms",
        "2": "Suluk"
      },
      "expansion": "Malay Suluk"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nan-hbl",
        "2": "蘇祿",
        "tr": "So͘-lo̍k"
      },
      "expansion": "Hokkien 蘇祿 /苏禄 (So͘-lo̍k)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Sulu/Sulú",
      "Joló#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "Sulug",
      "Sulug#Tausug"
    ],
    [
      "Sūg",
      "Sūg#Tausug"
    ],
    [
      "sulug",
      "sulug#Tausug"
    ],
    [
      "sūg",
      "sūg#Tausug"
    ],
    [
      "Solog",
      "Solog#Maranao"
    ],
    [
      "Suluk",
      "Suluk#Malay"
    ],
    [
      "蘇祿",
      "蘇祿#Hokkien"
    ],
    [
      "苏禄",
      "苏禄#Hokkien"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A province of Mindanao, Philippines. Capital: Jolo & Patikul.",
        "Sulu Archipelago (an archipelago of Mindanao, Philippines)",
        "the Sultanate of Sulu",
        "Tausug language"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical",
        "dated"
      ],
      "recordId": "9c9e784b4c1592f51b6695271f728160b046fe0fafc07a8882077b3933cfa932",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c4556f934acba7512336852f58cc43c8104248c5064c043b6de157341cd4c9cd",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5295814
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A member of a prominent Moro tribe, occupying the Sulu Archipelago."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "ef19867a48575c603e453a87ea77f88fb8cd206d950ea038c6fa3d32ed51c0b0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "fe798a08f1e7684b11d5fbb4a917688102c60f2f8085666265817205a2e78a38",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 5295815
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Sulu →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-U3VsdQ