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

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

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

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

Then the dato could urge his men to greater effort.

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 Wildman, Rounsevelle

That runs at the account of the datos, on whom depend the maintenance of the same people.

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

Activity of the Moro Pirates.—The task of the Spaniards in controlling the Moro datos continued to be immensely difficult.

From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.

It is as follows: Customs of the Tagalogs This people always had chiefs, called by them datos, who governed them and were captains in their wars, and whom they obeyed and reverenced.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 07 of 55 1588-1591 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 Robertson, James Alexander

His power over the subordinate datos was small, and in 1748 his brother, Bantilan, usurped his place and was proclaimed sultan of Jolo.

From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.

As these barangays were grouped into pueblos, or towns, the former datos were appointed captains and gobernadorcillos.

From A History of the Philippines by Barrows, David P.