Where does “taro” come from?

taro (Tok Pisin) comes from English Taro, from Maori taro, from Proto-Polynesian talo, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian taləs — taro.

taro (Tok Pisin): The taro plant

Definitions

  1. The taro plant

Ancestry of “taro”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishTaroColocasia esculenta, raised as a food primarily for its corm, which distantly resembles potato
2Maoritarotaro; bread
3Proto-Polynesiantalotaro, eddo
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesiantaləstaro
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian taləs →Every word from Proto-Polynesian talo →Every word from Maori taro →