Where does “pāwai” come from?

pāwai (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.

pāwai (Hawaiian): pond scum

Definitions

  1. pond scum

Ancestry of “pāwai”, step by step

pāwai 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 Proto-Indo-European pā-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Indo-Europeanpā-off, of
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →Every word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →