Where does “Niuē” come from?
Niuē (Niuean) comes from Niuean niu, from Proto-Polynesian niu, from Proto-Oceanic niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian niuʀ — coconut.
Niuē (Niuean): behold the coconut palm
Ancestry of “Niuē”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Niuean | niu | coconut |
| 2 | Proto-Polynesian | niu | coconut |
| 3 | Proto-Oceanic | niuʀ | coconut |
| 4 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *niuʀ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *niuʀ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | niuʀ | coconut |
Words derived from “Niuē”