Where does “pāpaʻa” come from?

pāpaʻa (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian paʻa, from Proto-Polynesian *paka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paŋgan — to roast over fire; to toast.

pāpaʻa (Hawaiian): cooked crisp, toasted

Definitions

  1. cooked crisp, toasted

Ancestry of “pāpaʻa”, step by step

pāpaʻa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian paʻa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianpaʻasolid; firm, fast, permanent
2Proto-Polynesian*paka—
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*paŋganto roast over fire; to toast

via Proto-Indo-European pā-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanpā-off, of
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paŋgan →Every word from Proto-Polynesian *paka →Every word from Hawaiian paʻa →