Where does “*mata-” come from?
*mata- (Proto-Oceanic) comes from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian mata, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian mata, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian mata, from Proto-Austronesian mata, from Proto-Austronesian maCa.
Ancestry of “*mata-”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | mata | eye |
| 2 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | mata | eye |
| 3 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | mata | eye |
| 4 | Proto-Austronesian | mata | eye |
| 5 | Proto-Austronesian | maCa | — |