Where does “kahawai” come from?

kahawai (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.

kahawai (Hawaiian): stream, creek

Definitions

  1. stream, creek

Ancestry of “kahawai”, step by step

kahawai 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 kaha

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiiankahato cut open, to slice lengthwise
2Proto-Polynesian*tafa—

Words derived from “kahawai”

Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →Every word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →