The history of this word is unclear. A number of forms seem clearly to have been borrowed from language__Malay, including modern language__Javanese tahan. However, language__Old Javanese tahən suggests that this was a native word before the modern era. It is possible that the language__Old Javanese form was borrowed by language__Malay, underwent the regular merger of *a and schwa in the ultima, and then was disseminated by language__Malay speakers into a wider range of languages, including modern language__Javanese. Dempwolff (1938) posited ‘Uraustronesisch’ *taqan ‘to bear, endure’.
| WMP | ||
| Tagalog | pag-tahán | act of ceasing or stopping (as from crying, joking, scolding or the like) |
| Tahán | Stop! (said to one who is crying) | |
| Toba Batak | ma-nahan | to carry, bear; to hold out, endure |
| Malay | tahan | holding out against; resistance; restraint; to sustain |
| Ngaju Dayak | tahan | to hold out, persevere, endure |
| Sundanese | tahan | hold out against, resist |
| Old Javanese | tahən | to restrain oneself with respect to, be in awe of |
| t<um>ahən | to hold out, stand, endure, bear, sustain, suffer; resist, restrain | |
| Javanese | tahan-an | prisoner |
| nahan | to restrain | |
| tahan | to (with)stand, endure | |
| Balinese | tahan | endure, put up with |
| tahen | bear with, endure, persist | |
| Bikol | mag-táhan | to endure, withstand; to outlast |