*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Yami

Coined by Torii Ryūzō in 1897. Possibly related to English Y'Ami Island and Spanish Diami, which early 1800s Spanish texts refer to as the name of a populated island of the Batanes Islands north of the Babuyan Islands, w

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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Tao people.

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

Coined by Torii Ryūzō in 1897. Possibly related to English Y'Ami Island and Spanish Diami, which early 1800s Spanish texts refer to as the name of a populated island of the Batanes Islands north of the Babuyan Islands, whose natives were at war with those of the other Batanes Islands who do not receive them except during storms or when the sea currents lead them to their islands, which in that case, they also don't let them go beyond the beaches. In 1802, Fr. Francisco de Paula Esteban O.P. also referred to Diami as the northernmost island in the Batanes Archipelago that people were moving to. See also Ibatan di- (qualitative prefix, indicating that someone or something possesses the quality of the word being prefixed), Ibatan ammyānan (“north”), Ibatan ammyan (“northeast monsoon; rainy season”), Ivatan amyan (“northeast monsoon; rainy season”), Ilocano amianan (“north”), Sakizaya amis (“north”), Amis amis (“north”), Central Bikol amihan (“north”), Cebuano amihanan (“north”), Tagalog amihan (“northeast monsoon”), Hiligaynon amihan (“north wind”), Proto-Austronesian *qamiS (“north wind”), Proto-Austronesian *i (location marker), Japanese 闇(やみ) (yami).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Non-cognate comparisonDiamies
  • Non-cognate comparisondi-ivb
  • Non-cognate comparisonammyānanivb · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonammyanivb · northeast monsoon; rainy season
  • Non-cognate comparisonamiananilo · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonamisszy · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonamisami · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonamihanbcl · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonamihananceb · north
  • Non-cognate comparisonamihantl · northeast monsoon
  • Non-cognate comparisonamihanhil · north wind
  • Non-cognate comparison*qamiSmap-pro · north wind
  • Non-cognate comparison*imap-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "w:Y'Ami Island"
      },
      "expansion": "English Y'Ami Island"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "es",
        "2": "Diami"
      },
      "expansion": "Spanish Diami"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ivb",
        "2": "di-",
        "pos": "qualitative prefix, indicating that someone or something possesses the quality of the word being prefixed"
      },
      "expansion": "Ibatan di- (qualitative prefix, indicating that someone or something possesses the quality of the word being prefixed)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ivb",
        "2": "ammyānan",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Ibatan ammyānan (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ivb",
        "2": "ammyan",
        "t": "northeast monsoon; rainy season"
      },
      "expansion": "Ibatan ammyan (“northeast monsoon; rainy season”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ivv",
        "2": "amyan",
        "t": "northeast monsoon; rainy season"
      },
      "expansion": "Ivatan amyan (“northeast monsoon; rainy season”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ilo",
        "2": "amianan",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Ilocano amianan (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "szy",
        "2": "amis",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Sakizaya amis (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ami",
        "2": "amis",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Amis amis (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bcl",
        "2": "amihan",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Central Bikol amihan (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ceb",
        "2": "amihanan",
        "t": "north"
      },
      "expansion": "Cebuano amihanan (“north”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "tl",
        "2": "amihan",
        "t": "northeast monsoon"
      },
      "expansion": "Tagalog amihan (“northeast monsoon”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "hil",
        "2": "amihan",
        "t": "north wind"
      },
      "expansion": "Hiligaynon amihan (“north wind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "map-pro",
        "2": "*qamiS",
        "t": "north wind"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Austronesian *qamiS (“north wind”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "map-pro",
        "2": "*i",
        "pos": "location marker"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Austronesian *i (location marker)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ja",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese"
    },
    {
      "name": "ja-r",
      "args": {
        "1": "闇",
        "2": "やみ"
      },
      "expansion": "闇(やみ) (yami)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Y'Ami Island",
      "w:Y'Ami Island"
    ],
    [
      "Diami",
      "Diami#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "populated",
      "populated"
    ],
    [
      "Diami",
      "Diami#Spanish"
    ],
    [
      "di-",
      "di-#Ibatan"
    ],
    [
      "ammyānan",
      "ammyānan#Ibatan"
    ],
    [
      "ammyan",
      "ammyan#Ibatan"
    ],
    [
      "amyan",
      "amyan#Ivatan"
    ],
    [
      "amianan",
      "amianan#Ilocano"
    ],
    [
      "amis",
      "amis#Sakizaya"
    ],
    [
      "amis",
      "amis#Amis"
    ],
    [
      "amihan",
      "amihan#Central_Bikol"
    ],
    [
      "amihanan",
      "amihanan#Cebuano"
    ],
    [
      "amihan",
      "amihan#Tagalog"
    ],
    [
      "amihan",
      "amihan#Hiligaynon"
    ],
    [
      "*qamiS",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Austronesian/qamiS"
    ],
    [
      "*i",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Austronesian/i"
    ],
    [
      "闇(やみ)",
      "闇#Japanese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A Malayo-Polynesian language spoken by the Tao people."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "146ef59b3868f843faf0843799eb46fcaeb1a0ffc109eeff0877a49d4ac6dfab",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a647c09b31e7806100cd1f00566bc2b78bddac97152f89452ed5c57b62fe2b7d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 9237025
    }
  ],
  "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 Yami →

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-WWFtaQ