Where does “Nowei” come from?
Nowei (Fijian) comes from English Norway, from Middle English Norwey, from Old English Norþweg, from Old Norse Norvegr, from Old Norse Norðvegr, from Old Norse norðr, from Proto-Germanic nurþrą, from Proto-Germanic nurþraz — below the surface, below.
Ancestry of “Nowei”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Norway | Short for Norway rat |
| 2 | Middle English | Norwey | — |
| 3 | Old English | Norþweg | — |
| 4 | Old Norse | Norvegr | north way |
| 5 | Old Norse | Norðvegr | — |
| 6 | Old Norse | norðr | north; north, northward |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | nurþrą | north, northern; north, northward |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | nurþraz | north, northern |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | *nér | below the surface, below |