dato

American  

[dah-toh, dah-taw] / ˈdɑ toʊ, ˈdɑ tɔ /

noun

• datos
  plural

1. datu.

2. the headman of a barrio or of a Malay tribe.

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dato British  

/ ˈdɑːtəʊ /

noun

1. the chief of any of certain Muslim tribes in the Philippine Islands

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• datos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dato

First recorded in 1610–20 as Datoe; partly from Malay datu, datto “ruler, chief,” and its variant datok, datuk “grandfather, elder,” partly from Indonesian datuk “head of the family, chieftain”; akin to datu ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dato datos

Then the dato could urge his men to greater effort.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

If the captain would pay now, the dato said, the men would begin taking the pepper to the ship.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

At last the dato said he would have pepper for the Putnam tomorrow’.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

One morning when Nat went ashore, the dato spread his hands and sighed.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

I am no longer laksamana; neither am I a dato.

From Tales of the Malayan Coast From Penang to the Philippines by Rounsevelle Wildman

Being baptized like them, if they wish, they may do it freely without the obstacle of datos and panditas.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XLIII, 1670-1700 by Various

Only the chief datos among them possess that idol.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XLIII, 1670-1700 by Various

The action of the Spanish authorities in giving titles as captains and lieutenants to Christians makes such persons the real datos of the island and weakens the hereditary allegiance.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XLIII, 1670-1700 by Various

The result of our conference was that General Corbin was directed to advise General Chaffee to use the office of the friendly datos to obtain the desired redress.

From Under Four Administrations From Cleveland to Taft by Oscar S. Straus

During this time some seventy adults have been baptized, among them six datos, or headmen of districts, with their wives.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55 1604-1605 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century by Emma Helen Blair