Where does “wilikī” come from?
wilikī (Hawaiian) comes from Hawaiian kī, from English key, from English cay, from Spanish Cayo, from Taíno cayo — small island.
wilikī (Hawaiian): engineer
Ancestry of “wilikī”, step by step
wilikī traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Hawaiian kī
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hawaiian | kī | ti, Cordyline fruticosa; key |
| 2 | English | key | An object designed to open and close a lock; An... |
| 3 | English | cay | A small, low island largely made of sand or coral |
| 4 | Spanish | Cayo | key island |
| 5 | Taíno | cayo | small island |
via Hawaiian wili
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hawaiian | wili | to bore, to drill, to screw |
| 2 | Proto-Polynesian | *wili | — |