Where does “kīngitanga” come from?
kīngitanga (Maori) comes from Maori kīngi, from English King, from Middle English king, from Old English cyning, from Old English tūn, from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum — smoke; mist, haze.
Ancestry of “kīngitanga”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maori | kīngi | — |
| 2 | English | King | radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter K |
| 3 | Middle English | king | king monarch |
| 4 | Old English | cyning | king |
| 5 | Old English | tūn | enclosure, yard; place; dwelling |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | tūn | fence |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | tūną | fence; enclosure |
| 8 | Gaulish | dunum | fort; hill, hillfort |
| 9 | Proto-Celtic | dūnom | stronghold, rampart |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |