Where does “niu” come from?
niu (Hawaiian) comes from Proto-Polynesian niu, from Proto-Oceanic niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian niuʀ — coconut.
niu (Hawaiian): coconut
Ancestry of “niu”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Polynesian | niu | coconut |
| 2 | Proto-Oceanic | niuʀ | coconut |
| 3 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *niuʀ | — |
| 4 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *niuʀ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | niuʀ | coconut |