Where does “heleāwai” come from?

heleāwai (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.

heleāwai (Hawaiian): to flow like water

Definitions

  1. to flow like water

Ancestry of “heleāwai”, step by step

heleāwai 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 hele

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianheleto walk, move
2Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesiansele
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀEvery word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀEvery word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ