dato

[dah-toh; Spanish dah-taw]

noun, plural da·tos

[dah-tohz; Spanish dah-taws] /ˈdɑ toʊz; Spanish ˈdɑ tɔs/,

(in the Philippines) a native chief.
the headman of a barrio or of a Malay tribe.

Also datu.

Origin of dato

1835–45; < Spanish or Portuguese < Malay datuk war chief

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dato

Historical Examples of dato

Piang, no dato can boast of a grander court than Ganassi, eh?
The Adventures of Piang the Moro Jungle Boy
Florence Partello Stuart
Presently I suggested that we had come to call on Dato Tumay.
The Philippines Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)
Dean Conant Worcester
This is the kind of dato that they now prefer, not him who has the spirit to command.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, V7, 1588-1591
Emma Helen Blair
Inok, dato of Labau, is also of this line, tracing his descent from Lakbang.
The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao
Fay-Cooper Cole
To our great amazement Dato Pula kept his word and sent his brother on board!
The Philippines Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)
Dean Conant Worcester

British Dictionary definitions for dato

dato

noun plural -tos

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

Word Origin for dato

C19: from Spanish, ultimately from Malay dato' grandfather

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012