Kava & kava kava

[Jim Rader]

Dear AN-LANGers--

I am aware that <kava> is general Polynesian, with some
languages dropping the [k]--but aside from Tongan, from which the
word may first have been recorded in English, in what other
languages does the specific form <kava> occur?  And what is the
significance of reduplicated <kava kava>?  Is it possible in some
languages alongside <kava> and not in others?

Thanks, as usual--


Jim Rader
Etymology Editor
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal St., P.O. Box 281
Springfield MA 01102
http://www.merriamwebster.com