Where does “Pō whakamataku” come from?
Pō whakamataku (Maori) comes from Maori whakamataku, from Maori mataku, from Proto-Polynesian *mataku, from Proto-Oceanic *matakut, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *matakut, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *matakut, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *matakut, from Proto-Austronesian *matakut — afraid, scared.
Ancestry of “Pō whakamataku”, step by step
Pō whakamataku traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Maori whakamataku
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maori | whakamataku | — |
| 2 | Maori | mataku | — |
| 3 | Proto-Polynesian | *mataku | — |
| 4 | Proto-Oceanic | *matakut | to be afraid, to be scared |
| 5 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *matakut | — |
| 6 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *matakut | — |
| 7 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | *matakut | afraid, scared |
| 8 | Proto-Austronesian | *matakut | afraid, scared |