Where does “wai” come from?
wai (Kapingamarangi) comes 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.
wai (Kapingamarangi): water
Ancestry of “wai”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Nuclear Polynesian | wai | water |
| 2 | Proto-Polynesian | wai | water |
| 3 | Proto-Oceanic | waiʀ | water |
| 4 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | waiʀ | water |
| 5 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | waiʀ | water |
| 6 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | wahiʀ | water |