Where does “Tongan” come from?

Tongan comes from English Tonga, from Tongan Tonga, from Samoan toga, ultimately from Proto-Italic -os through Latin -us, -um, -anus.

Tongan (English): An Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch...

Definitions

  1. An Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch...

Ancestry of “Tongan”, step by step

Tongan traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English Tonga

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishTongaA Bantu, in the Nyasa branch, spoken in Malawi
2TonganTonga—
3Samoantogasouth; southern

via Proto-Chamic *taŋaːn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Chamic*taŋaːn—
2Proto-Malayictaŋanhand

via Swedish Tonga

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SwedishTonga—

Words derived from “Tongan”

Every word from Samoan toga →Every word from Tongan Tonga →Every word from English Tonga →