Where does “mai” come from?

mai (Kedah Malay) comes from Proto-Malayic mari, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(um-)aʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *(um-)aʀi.

mai (Kedah Malay): Come, present (at here), attend, be (here)

Definitions

  1. Come, present (at here), attend, be (here)

Ancestry of “mai”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Malayicmarito come
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*(um-)aʀito come to move from further away to nearer to
3Proto-Austronesian*(um-)aʀi—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian *(um-)aʀi →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(um-)aʀi →Every word from Proto-Malayic mari →