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

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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. )

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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

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

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

“Ask the dato if he has heard of the mysterious rice that has been found on Lake Lanao, Ricardo,” said Lieutenant Lewis.

From The Adventures of Piang the Moro Jungle Boy A Book for Young and Old by Florence Partello Stuart

They were unable to overcome the intense antagonism of the Moro panditas and datos, but they apparently won the young sultan, Alim ud Din, whose strange story and shifting fortunes have been variously told.

From A History of the Philippines by David P. Barrows

The naturalists are disappointed in their attempts to make researches on the island, as the sultan, although in order to evade the request, declares that it is unsafe, because of the hostile datos.

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 David P. Barrows

The datos Linao and Libot of Joló, and Sacahati of Tawi-Tawi, with thirteen vessels, scoured the coasts of Bohol, Leyte, and Masbate.

From The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 - Volume 41 of 55, 1691-1700 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

Then come the Malay Sulus, all Mohammedans and still governed by their Sultan and their datos, feudal lords who, under the suzerainty of the Spaniards, have possessed considerable power.

From The Boys of '98 by James Otis

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