Where does “*kali” come from?

*kali (Austronesian) comes from Proto-Austronesian kalih, from Old Javanese ka-, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ka-, from Proto-Austronesian ka- — inchoative.

Ancestry of “*kali”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Austronesiankalihto dig up; to excavate
2Old Javaneseka-passive verb-forming prefix
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianka-marker of past time in temporal expressions
4Proto-Austronesianka-inchoative

Words derived from “*kali

Every word from Proto-Austronesian ka-Every word from Old Javanese ka-Every word from Proto-Austronesian kalih