getek

getek

n.

A swelling, bulge, or enlargement of part of the body caused by injury, inflammation, infection, or other physical conditions.

USAGE

May getek siya sa botkon.
“He has a swelling on his knee.”

Naggetek anang kamot.
“His hand became swollen.”

NOTES

Refers to bodily swelling in general.

Compare:

lotok
a bump produced by impact or blunt trauma, especially on the head.

gotok
the swelling or enlargement of flower buds before blooming.

SEMANTIC OBSERVATION

Although getes, getel, and getek belong to different semantic fields, they exhibit an intriguing pattern:

One possible historical semantic nucleus is the notion of projection or separation from a surface:

• leaves are picked away from a plant (getes);
• grain is cut away using a harvesting knife (getel);
• tissue bulges outward from the body (getek).

At present this remains a working historical hypothesis, not an established etymology.