Where does “iaʻu” come from?

iaʻu (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian aʻu, from Proto-Polynesian au, from Proto-Oceanic (i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian (i-)aku — I; me; my.

iaʻu (Hawaiian): me

Definitions

  1. me

Ancestry of “iaʻu”, step by step

iaʻu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian aʻu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianaʻumine, my; me
2Proto-PolynesianauI, me, my
3Proto-Oceanic(i-)auI
4Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian(i-)akuI
5Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian(i-)akuI; me; my
6Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(i-)akuI; me; my
7Proto-Austronesian(i-)akuI; me; my

via Hawaiian iā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianiā"Aloha wau iā ʻoe"
Every word from Proto-Austronesian (i-)aku →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (i-)aku →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian (i-)aku →