fetū

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Tahitian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Polynesian *fetuqu (cognate with Hawaiian hōkū and Maori whetū), from Proto-Oceanic *pituqun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bituqən, from Proto-Austronesian *bituqən (cognate with Tagalog bituin). Astronomical sense displaced later by fetiʻa due to tapu by association with names of certain royalty.

Noun[edit]

fetū

  1. (archaic, obsolete) star
    Synonym: fetiʻa
  2. starfish, sea star

References[edit]