Where does “ke” come from?
ke (Malay) comes from Old Malay ka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ka, from Proto-Austronesian ka — if.
ke (Malay): or; to
Ancestry of “ke”, step by step
ke traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old Malay ka
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Malay | ka | — |
| 2 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | ka | if |
| 3 | Proto-Austronesian | ka | if |
via English Kay
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | Kay | derived from several Old and Middle English words; also adopted by immigrants whose surnames began with a K |
| 2 | Latin | ka | The name of the letter "K" |