Where does “vai” come from?
vai (Rapa Nui) comes from Proto-Eastern Polynesian wai, from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian wai, from Proto-Polynesian wai, from Proto-Oceanic waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ — water.
vai (Rapa Nui): water
Ancestry of “vai”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Proto-Eastern Polynesian | wai | water |
| 2 | Proto-Nuclear Polynesian | wai | water |
| 3 | Proto-Polynesian | wai | water |
| 4 | Proto-Oceanic | waiʀ | water |
| 5 | Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | waiʀ | water |
| 6 | Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian | waiʀ | water |
| 7 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | wahiʀ | water |