Words that come from Proto-Polynesian “lele”

42 words across 18 languages descend from Proto-Polynesian lele — including ukulele, ukelele, banjolele, ʻukulele, lele, ウクレレ, ukulelist, ucailéile.

See the etymology of lele itself →

English (8)

Finnish (5)

Hawaiian (4)

Portuguese (4)

Samoan (3)

Marshallese (3)

Niuean (2)

Chinese (2)

Tokelauan (2)

Japanese (1)

Irish (1)

American English (1)

Russian (1)

Welsh (1)

Indonesian (1)

Polish (1)

Kazakh (1)

Egyptian Arabic (1)