Dempwolff (1938) posited ‘Uraustronesisch’ *tubiR ‘deep place in the water’ (Wassertiefe), but the meaning in Central Philippine languages is consistently ‘water’ or ‘juice’, and no forms have been found that might be used to bridge the gap to the semantics of the language__Malay term.
| WMP | ||
| Tagalog | túbig | water |
| Tausug | ma-tubig | watery, (of fruit) juicy |
| tubig | water, juice (of a fruit), (with ) tears | |
| Malay | tubir | declivity; cliff; steep river bank; very sloping beach |
| Mongondow | tubig | water, moisture, juice |
| Bikol | ma-túbig | watery |
| túbig | water; a pond, puddle, pool | |