Where does “palai kahawai” come from?

palai kahawai (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian kahawai, 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 — water.

palai kahawai (Hawaiian): swamp fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides)

Definitions

  1. swamp fern (Ceratopteris thalictroides)

Ancestry of “palai kahawai”, step by step

palai kahawai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Hawaiian kahawai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiiankahawaistream, creek
2Hawaiianwaifresh water
3Proto-Eastern Polynesianwaiwater
4Proto-Nuclear Polynesianwaiwater
5Proto-Polynesianwaiwater
6Proto-Oceanicwaiʀwater
7Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
8Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
9Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwahiʀwater

via Hawaiian palai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1HawaiianpalaiAny of species Microlepia setosa of native ferns placed on the altar of Laka, goddess of the hula
2EnglishfryA method of cooking food; To be affected by...
3Middle EnglishfryenTo fry cook in hot fat
4Old Frenchfrireto fry
5Latinfrīgōto roast, fry
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰēr-shiny, light brown
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀEvery word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀEvery word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ
palai kahawai — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer