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
Ancestry of “apa-apa”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Malay | apa-apa | anything |
| 2 | Malay | apa | what; "introduces a question" |
| 3 | Proto-Malayic | apa | what |
| 4 | Proto-Austronesian | *apa | — |