Where does “pāy” come from?

pāy (Middle Persian) comes from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian pajay, from Proto-Austronesian pajay — paddy rice unmilled, rice plants.

Ancestry of “pāy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Malayo-Polynesianpajaypaddy unmilled rice, rice plant
2Proto-Austronesianpajaypaddy rice unmilled, rice plants
Every word from Proto-Austronesian pajay