Where does “apa-apa” come from?

apa-apa (Indonesian) comes from Malay apa-apa, from Malay apa, from Proto-Malayic apa, from Proto-Austronesian *apa.

apa-apa (Indonesian): anything

Definitions

  1. anything

Ancestry of “apa-apa”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayapa-apaanything
2Malayapawhat; "introduces a question"
3Proto-Malayicapawhat
4Proto-Austronesian*apa—

Words derived from “apa-apa”

Every word from Proto-Austronesian *apa →Every word from Proto-Malayic apa →Every word from Malay apa →