Where does “sa-” come from?
sa- (Old Malay) comes from Proto-Malayic sA-, from Proto-Malayic əsa, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic əsa, from Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan əsa, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian əsa, from Proto-Austronesian *əsa, from Proto-Oceanic *isa.
Ancestry of “sa-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Malayic | sA- | one |
| 2 | Proto-Malayic | əsa | — |
| 3 | Proto-Malayo-Chamic | əsa | — |
| 4 | Proto-Malayo-Sumbawan | əsa | — |
| 5 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | əsa | one |
| 6 | Proto-Austronesian | *əsa | — |
| 7 | Proto-Oceanic | *isa | — |