Where does “mai” come from?

mai (Fijian) comes from Proto-Oceanic mai, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(um-)aʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *(um-)aʀi.

mai (Fijian): to come; in; from

Definitions

  1. to come; in; from

Ancestry of “mai”, step by step

mai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Oceanic mai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Oceanicmai—
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*(um-)aʀito come to move from further away to nearer to
3Proto-Austronesian*(um-)aʀi—

via Proto-Oceanic maʀi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Oceanicmaʀi—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian *(um-)aʀi →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(um-)aʀi →Every word from Proto-Oceanic mai →