Where does “nama waea” come from?
nama waea (Maori) comes from Maori waea, from English wire, from Middle English wir, from Old English wīr, from English myrtle, from Old French myrte, from Latin myrtus, from Ancient Greek μύρτος.
Ancestry of “nama waea”, step by step
nama waea traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Maori waea
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maori | waea | — |
| 2 | English | wire | Metal formed into a thin, even thread, now... |
| 3 | Middle English | wir | — |
| 4 | Old English | wīr | wire, metal thread, wire-ornament |
| 5 | English | myrtle | An evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus... |
| 6 | Old French | myrte | — |
| 7 | Latin | myrtus | myrtle |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | μύρτος | myrtle; twig or spray of myrtle |
| 9 | Ancient Greek | μυρίκη | tamarisk |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | -ίκη | — |
via Maori nama
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maori | nama | number, numeral; bill, invoice |
| 2 | English | number | An abstract entity used to describe quantity; A... |
| 3 | English | numb | Physically unable to feel, not having the power... |
| 4 | English | nim | To take or seize; To filch, steal; To walk with... |
| 5 | Middle English | nimen | to take |
| 6 | Old English | niman | to take, seize |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | neman | to take |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | nemaną | to take |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | nem- | to distribute; to give, to take |