*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of vatu

Etymology tree Proto-Austronesian *batux Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Oceanic *patu Raga vatubor. Bislama vatubor. English vatu B

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

The national currency of Vanuatu.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Austronesian *batux Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu Proto-Oceanic *patu Raga vatubor. Bislama vatubor. English vatu Borrowed from Bislama vatu (“stone”), borrowed from Raga vatu (“stone”), from Proto-Oceanic *patu (“stone”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "bi:vatu<t:stone><ety:bor<lml:vatu<t:stone><ety:inh<poz-oce-pro:*patu<t:stone>>>>>",
        "text": ":poz-oce-pro",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Austronesian *batux\nProto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Oceanic *patu\nRaga vatubor.\nBislama vatubor.\nEnglish vatu\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"stone\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"stone\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"stone\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"stone\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Austronesian\", \"term\" : \"*batux\", \"lang\" : \"map-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Malayo-Polynesian\", \"term\" : \"*batu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"poz-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian\", \"term\" : \"*batu\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"poz-cet-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian\", \"term\" : \"*batu\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"pqe-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Oceanic\", \"term\" : \"*patu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"poz-oce-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Raga\", \"term\" : \"vatu\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"lml\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Bislama\", \"term\" : \"vatu\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"bi\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"vatu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"vatu\">\nBorrowed from Bislama vatu (“stone”), borrowed from Raga vatu (“stone”), from Proto-Oceanic *patu (“stone”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "bi:vatu<t:stone><ety:bor<lml:vatu<t:stone><ety:inh<poz-oce-pro:*patu<t:stone>>>>>",
        "text": ":poz-oce-pro",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Austronesian *batux\nProto-Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *batu\nProto-Oceanic *patu\nRaga vatubor.\nBislama vatubor.\nEnglish vatu\nBorrowed from Bislama vatu (“stone”), borrowed from Raga vatu (“stone”), from Proto-Oceanic *patu (“stone”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*batux",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Austronesian/batux#Proto-Austronesian:_stone"
    ],
    [
      "*batu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Malayo-Polynesian/batu"
    ],
    [
      "*batu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian/batu"
    ],
    [
      "*batu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian/batu"
    ],
    [
      "*patu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Oceanic/patu"
    ],
    [
      "vatu",
      "vatu#Raga"
    ],
    [
      "vatu",
      "vatu#Bislama"
    ],
    [
      "vatu",
      "vatu#Bislama"
    ],
    [
      "vatu",
      "vatu#Raga"
    ],
    [
      "*patu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Oceanic/patu"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The national currency of Vanuatu."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d8451cddf2b2682b2c372596252f4103552f2c8f38cefdb4a72016267df6f33f",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0499c4fffa778cb976966d9cc7ac7402f82a5cb1ef04ac2f6ad02b30b46906c6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 483860
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for vatu →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dmF0dQ