Where does “aʻela” come from?
aʻela (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian lā, from Proto-Polynesian *la, from Proto-Oceanic layaʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian layaʀ, from Proto-Austronesian layaʀ — sail.
aʻela (Hawaiian): upward, sideways; next
Ancestry of “aʻela”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hawaiian | lā | sail; dorsal fin; sun, sun’s heat; sunny, solar |
| 2 | Proto-Polynesian | *la | — |
| 3 | Proto-Oceanic | layaʀ | sail |
| 4 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | layaʀ | sail |
| 5 | Proto-Austronesian | layaʀ | sail |