Where does “matawā” come from?

matawā (Maori) comes from Maori mata, from Polynesian *mata.

Ancestry of “matawā”, step by step

matawā traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Maori mata

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maorimataraw; eye
2Polynesian*mata—

via Maori wā

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maoriwātime
Every word from Polynesian *mata →Every word from Maori mata →