ʻuhila

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Tongan

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *quhila (compare with Hawaiian uila, Maori uira, Tahitian uira and Samoan uila), from Proto-Oceanic *qusila (compare with Fijian cila (to shine)), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *silaq (outpouring or beam of light)[1] related to Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qusilak (lightning).[2] Compare with Maori uira and hiko, Hawaiian uila plus Tahitian uira for semantic extension into "electricity".

Noun

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ʻuhila

  1. lightning
  2. electricity

References

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  1. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “quhila”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
  2. ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 3: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, page 149