There are few stories that led to the main beliefs in the origin of the mountain's name. The first derivation of the word Kinabalu is extracted from the short form for the Kadazan-Dusun word 'Aki Nabalu', meaning "the revered place of the dead". Meanwhile, it can also be believed that the name "Kinabalu" comes from the Dusun phrase "tina balu" which means "a widow mother". So, assumably, "tina balu" is the spirit of the mount itself. Another consideration is Kinabalu is formed by two words of Dusun "ki" (have/has) and "nabalu" (mountain), so "ki-nabalu" means "have mountain". It is common by Dusun people named place based on what the place have. For example, there is a place named "kiwaig" that literally mean "have water". Considering the fact that the word "Kinabalu" in many Dusun dialects literally means 'mountain', means that this explanation is the most likely.