Where does “ukulele” come from?
ukulele (Portuguese) comes from English ukulele, from Hawaiian ʻukulele, from Hawaiian ʻuku, from Proto-Polynesian kutu, from Proto-Oceanic kutu, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian kutu, from Austronesian *kutu, from Proto-Austronesian *kuCux.
ukulele (Portuguese): ukulele
Ancestry of “ukulele”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | ukulele | A small four-stringed guitar |
| 2 | Hawaiian | ʻukulele | A small four-stringed guitar, an ukulele |
| 3 | Hawaiian | ʻuku | louse, flea |
| 4 | Proto-Polynesian | kutu | louse |
| 5 | Proto-Oceanic | kutu | — |
| 6 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | kutu | — |
| 7 | Austronesian | *kutu | — |
| 8 | Proto-Austronesian | *kuCux | — |
Words derived from “ukulele”