Where does “buayè” come from?

buayè (Betawi) comes from Malay buaya, from Proto-Malayic buhaya, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buqaya, from Proto-Austronesian buqaya — crocodile.

Ancestry of “buayè”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaybuayacrocodile; playboy, womanizer
2Proto-Malayicbuhayacrocodile
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbuqayacrocodile
4Proto-Austronesianbuqayacrocodile
Every word from Proto-Austronesian buqaya →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buqaya →Every word from Proto-Malayic buhaya →