Where does “pānānā” come from?

pānānā (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian nānā, from Polynesian *naa-naa.

pānānā (Hawaiian): compass, device with floated needle that directs to the magnetic north

Definitions

  1. compass, device with floated needle that directs to the magnetic north

Ancestry of “pānānā”, step by step

pānānā traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian nānā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiiannānāgoat; to look, observe
2Polynesian*naa-naa—

via Proto-Indo-European pā-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanpā-off, of
Every word from Polynesian *naa-naa →Every word from Hawaiian nānā →