Where does “mate” come from?

mate (Tetum) comes from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *mate, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (m-)atay, from Proto-Austronesian aCay.

mate (Tetum): dead no longer alive

Definitions

  1. dead no longer alive

Ancestry of “mate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*mate—
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(m-)atayto die
3Proto-AustronesianaCay—
Every word from Proto-Austronesian aCay →