Where does “kapu” come from?
kapu (English) comes from Hawaiian kapu, from Proto-Polynesian tapu, from Proto-Oceanic tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian tambu, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian tambu.
kapu (English): Taboo, especially in Hawaiian contexts
Definitions
- Taboo, especially in Hawaiian contexts
Ancestry of “kapu”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hawaiian | kapu | taboo, prohibition; something sacred or holy, and... |
| 2 | Proto-Polynesian | tapu | taboo |
| 3 | Proto-Oceanic | tabu | — |
| 4 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | tambu | — |
| 5 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | tambu | — |