Borrowed fromHokkien, the first syllable of which most likely is from雞 /鸡(ke,“chicken”), as noted by Chan-Yap (1980). The second syllable is proposed by Chan-Yap (1980) to mean“young; tender”, proposing the character弟(tī), which has no such meaning, but a similar sounding character稚(tī,“young; immature”) does.
Chan-Yap, Gloria (1980) “Hokkien Chinese borrowings in Tagalog”, inPacific Linguistics, volume B, number71 (PDF), Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.: The Australian National University,page134
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,page32
