Where does “ʻutu” come from?

ʻutu (Tahitian) comes from Proto-Polynesian kutu, from Proto-Oceanic kutu, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian kutu, from Austronesian *kutu, from Proto-Austronesian *kuCux — louse insect.

ʻutu (Tahitian): louse

Definitions

  1. louse

Ancestry of “ʻutu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Polynesiankutulouse
2Proto-Oceanickutulouse generic
3Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesiankutu—
4Austronesian*kutu—
5Proto-Austronesian*kuCuxlouse insect
Every word from Proto-Austronesian *kuCux →Every word from Austronesian *kutu →Every word from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian kutu →