Pagadian

The story

1. Central Subanen · derived frompengadian“school”
2. Central Subanen · derived fromgagadian
3. Iranun · derived frompagad“to wait”
4. English todayPagadian

Multiple etymologies exist: * The city is believed to have been an Iranun trading post in the past, and so a blend of Iranun pagad (“to wait”) + padian (“market”) are widely accepted as the roots of the name. * Possibly from Central Subanen gagadian, a bird that the native inhabitants call. * Possibly from the Cebuano word pangadyian (“a place to pray; land of prayers”). * Also speculated to be derived from Central Subanen pengadian (“school”).