Where does “Te Waipounamu” come from?

Te Waipounamu (Maori) comes from Maori wai, from Proto-Eastern Polynesian wai, 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.

Ancestry of “Te Waipounamu”, step by step

Te Waipounamu traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Maori wai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maoriwaiwater; liquid; who?
2Proto-Eastern Polynesianwaiwater
3Proto-Nuclear Polynesianwaiwater
4Proto-Polynesianwaiwater
5Proto-Oceanicwaiʀwater
6Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
7Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
8Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwahiʀwater

via Maori te

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maoritethe; Referring to a whole class of things or...

via Maori pounamu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maoripounamugreenstone
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →Every word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →