Aiga
/ˈaɪ.ŋa/noun
A Samoan term for an extended family, kinship group, or wider familial community.
Did you know?In Samoan spelling, the letter “g” represents the sound /ŋ/, so *aiga* is pronounced roughly “eye-nga,” not “eye-ga.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
PPN
*kainga
“Kin, relatives, or a community connected by ancestry”
Early Polynesian
Polynesian
*kainga
“Extended family or people belonging to one ancestral group”
Pre-contact Samoa
Samoan
aiga
“Family or kin group; the initial k sound was lost in Samoan”
19th Century
Samoan
aiga
“Extended family, including relatives connected through descent, marriage, and adoption”
Modern English
English
aiga
“A borrowed Samoan term for extended family or a broader familial community”