Where does “wail” come from?

wail (Cebuano) comes from Cebuano wala, from Austronesian *wada, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wada — to be.

wail (Cebuano): an insignificant person; an unknown person or...

Definitions

  1. an insignificant person; an unknown person or...

Ancestry of “wail”, step by step

wail traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Cebuano wala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Cebuanowalaindicates the nonexistence or absence of something; there is none, no one, nothing
2Austronesian*wada—
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwadato be

via Cebuano ilhi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Cebuanoilhi—
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wada →Every word from Austronesian *wada →Every word from Cebuano wala →