Where does “alawai” come from?

alawai (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian wai, from Proto-Eastern Polynesian wai, from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian wai, from Proto-Polynesian wai, from Proto-Oceanic waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ — water.

alawai (Hawaiian): channel

Definitions

  1. channel

Ancestry of “alawai”, step by step

alawai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian wai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianwaifresh water
2Proto-Eastern Polynesianwaiwater
3Proto-Nuclear Polynesianwaiwater
4Proto-Polynesianwaiwater
5Proto-Oceanicwaiʀwater
6Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
7Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
8Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwahiʀwater

via Hawaiian ala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianalaway, path, road
2Proto-Polynesianhala
3Proto-Oceanicjalanpath a trail for the use of, or worn by, pedestrians; a course taken
4Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianzalan
5Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianzalan
6Proto-Malayo-Polynesianzalanpath
7Proto-Austronesianzalanpath
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀEvery word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀEvery word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ