Where does “rākau whai hua” come from?

rākau whai hua (Maori) comes from Maori hua, from Proto-Polynesian *fua, from Proto-Oceanic puaq, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *buaq, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *buaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buaq, from Proto-Austronesian buaq — fruit.

Ancestry of “rākau whai hua”, step by step

rākau whai hua traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Maori hua

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maorihuafruit
2Proto-Polynesian*fua—
3Proto-Oceanicpuaq—
4Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*buaq—
5Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*buaq—
6Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbuaqfruit
7Proto-Austronesianbuaqfruit

via Maori whai

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Maoriwhai—
2Proto-Polynesian*fairay marine fish with a flat body, large wing-like fins, and a whip-like tail
3Proto-Oceanic*paʀistingray
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesianpaʀihray
5Proto-AustronesianpaʀiSray

via Maori rākau

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1MaorirākauA weapon; a club or bat; A tree, stick, spar, or...
2Proto-Polynesianraqakauwood; tree
3Proto-Oceanicraqan kayuwood; tree
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesiandaqan kahiwwood branch
Every word from Proto-Austronesian buaq →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian buaq →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *buaq →