objects:   ten, in counting certain objects

obstruct, stretch across

odor

offer

offspring child

oil

Mills (1981), citingBenedict (1975:286) as his source, uses this comparison, together with an unrevealedMakassarese form that cannot be located in any published source, in part because no actual form is given, to positPAn *lawlaw ‘oil’. However, both Formosan forms reflect *NawNaw, which normally yieldsPMP *n, not *l, and these themselves may be a product of borrowing, since this characterized the relationship ofPaiwan andPuyuma for centuries (Blust 1999:47-51). Needless to say, since the resemblance ofFijianlolo to the words from southern Taiwan is both formally flawed and semantically deviant, it is best treated as a product of chance.

older woman:   aunt, older woman

Dempwolff (1938) proposed ‘Uraustronesisch’ *daga ‘to be related’, butDahl (1976:106-107) has rightly dismissed this comparison as invalid.

on the loose:   free, on the loose

Based on a slightly different version of this comparisonMills (1981) proposedPAn *la(m)baR ‘free; rebellious’. However, almost nothing about this comparison works: theTagalog word is semantically at odds with the others cited here,Acehneselabaih can only reflect *labas, theMadurese form contains a penultimate vowel that disagrees with the reconstruction, and the other forms are confined to languages in central or southwest Sulawesi, where borrowing cannot safely be ruled out with regard toBuginese orMakassarese influence onBare'e.

one

It is conceivable that this is one of a set of numerals used for special purposes, as by children in play. However, there is no known support for this hypothesis beyond the present comparison, and until further support is found it seems best to treat the similarity seen here as a product of chance convergence.

onto:   step onto

open

open wide

opening:   door opening

Chance (cp.Kayanba 'mouth', evidently the primary sense of the term).

opening

Dempwolff (1934-38) reconstructed *wawaq 'opening', but theJavanese form is best attributed to *babaq₂ and theMalagasy form to *babaq₁. The similarity ofTagalogwáwaʔ toSa'awawa is best attributed to chance.

orderly rule-governed

Dempwolff (1938) reconstructed ‘Uraustronesisch’ *tataR ‘rule’, addingFijiani-tata ‘order, command’, a form that I am unable to find in any modern dictionary.

other, to change

Chance.Dempwolff (1934-38) combined these forms withNgaju Dayakiwa-n 'sister-in-law (woman speaking)'.

owl sp.

owl sp.