Where does “vai” come from?

vai (Tuvaluan) comes 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 (Tuvaluan): water; lake

Definitions

  1. water; lake

Ancestry of “vai”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Nuclear Polynesianwaiwater
2Proto-Polynesianwaiwater
3Proto-Oceanicwaiʀwater
4Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
5Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesianwaiʀwater
6Proto-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 →