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

Definitions

  1. water

Ancestry of “vai”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Eastern Polynesianwaiwater
2Proto-Nuclear Polynesianwaiwater
3Proto-Polynesianwaiwater
4Proto-Oceanicwaiʀwater
5Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
6Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
7Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwahiʀwater
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wahiʀ →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →Every word from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian waiʀ →