mato aia

Minangkabau

Etymology

Compound of mato (“eye”) +‎ aia (“water”). From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *mata nu wahiR (“spring of water, source of a river”). Cognate to Malay mata air.

Noun

mato aia

1. spring (spot where water wells up from underground)

References

• Kamus Minangkabau - Indonesia [Minangkabau - Indonesian Dictionary]‎^[1] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, 1985, page 191