Talk:Falema'i

what does falema mean in english

Falema'i means "hospital":

"fale" means house (from Proto-Polynesian *fare, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balay, ultimately from Proto-Austronesian *balay)
"ma'i" means sick/ill

So "falema'i" means "house of the sick" or "house of illness".

Cognates include Hawaiian "hale ma'i", Tahitian "fare ma'i", and possibly Tongan "fale mahaki" (depends on whether or not "mahaki" is cognate with "ma'i", I doubt it). PiRSquared17 (talk) 21:12, 15 Tesema 2012 (UTC)[reply]

ma'i is from Proto-Polynesian *maki (probably from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *masaki?). Tongan "mahaki" is also from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *masaki. PiRSquared17 (talk) 06:40, 26 Tesema 2012 (UTC)[reply]