Where does “*keli” come from?
*keli (Proto-Polynesian) comes from Proto-Oceanic keli, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *kali, from Proto-Malayo-Chamic *kali, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian kali, from Proto-Austronesian kalih, from Old Javanese ka-, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian ka-, from Proto-Austronesian ka- — inchoative.
Ancestry of “*keli”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Proto-Oceanic | keli | — |
| 2 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | *kali | — |
| 3 | Proto-Malayo-Chamic | *kali | — |
| 4 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | kali | to dig up; to excavate |
| 5 | Proto-Austronesian | kalih | to dig up; to excavate |
| 6 | Old Javanese | ka- | passive verb-forming prefix |
| 7 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | ka- | marker of past time in temporal expressions |
| 8 | Proto-Austronesian | ka- | inchoative |