Where does “Mahiʻai” come from?

Mahiʻai (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian ʻai, from Proto-Polynesian kai, from Proto-Oceanic kani, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian kaən, from Proto-Austronesian kaən — to eat.

Mahiʻai (Hawaiian): farmer

Definitions

  1. farmer

Ancestry of “Mahiʻai”, step by step

Mahiʻai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian ʻai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianʻaifood; in particular, any food that is not fish;...
2Proto-Polynesiankaifood
3Proto-Oceanickanito eat consume
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesiankaənto eat
5Proto-Austronesiankaənto eat

via Hawaiian mahi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianmahifarm
2Proto-Polynesian*mafi—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian kaən →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian kaən →Every word from Proto-Oceanic kani →