Where does “pā wai” come from?

pā wai (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.

pā wai (Hawaiian): water trough

Definitions

  1. water trough

Ancestry of “pā wai”, step by step

pā wai 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 pā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianpāfence, wall, enclosure
2Proto-Polynesian*pa—
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →Every word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →