Etymology

pangolin

P3A1N1G2O1L1I1N1

Today it means: Any of several long-tailed, scale-covered mammals of the family Manidae within the order Pholidota of tropical Africa and Asia. Full definition →

Malay pengguling ← Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *guliŋ ← Proto-Malayic *pAŋ-
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The story

  1. Proto-Austronesian*paŋ-
  2. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*paŋ-
  3. Proto-Malayic*pAŋ-
  4. Malaypeng-
  5. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*guliŋ
  6. Malayguling
  7. Malaypengguling
  8. English todaypangolin

Borrowed from Malay pengguling, from peng- (“denominative prefix”) + guling (“to roll”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.