List of English words of Maori origin - Definition and Overview

Maori (a Malayo-Polynesian Austronesian language of the indigenous Polynesian inhabitants of New Zealand) has contributed many words to New Zealand English and a limited number to world-wide English usage.

International Borrowings

The accepted common names of a number of species of animal and plant endemic to New Zealand are simply their Maori names. Only those well-known outside technical circles are listed here:

• kauri: a large conifer in the Araucariaceae
• kea: the alpine parrot
• kiwi: the bird, a New Zealander, or sometimes the kiwi fruit
• mako, the shark considered a magnificent fighter by game-fisherman
• moa: the extinct giant flightless bird
• tuatara: rare lizard-like reptile, not closely related to any other species currently alive

Other Maori terms in international use:

• mana: Very roughly, the regard in which someone is held; respect of their authority; reputation
• haka (Traditional Maori war-dance, used by New Zealand's sports teams when performing internationally to 'intimidate' the opponent),

New Zealand English

Many Maori words are in wide usage, and are not treated as foreign words (e.g. by italicisation in print). Some examples are

• hangi (traditional feast)
• hikoi (march or walk)
• hui (meeting)
• iwi (tribe)
• kai (meaning "food"; also "kai moana" meaning "sea food")
• kia ora (a greeting, literally be healthy)
• pa (a hill fort)
• Pakeha (New Zealander of non-Maori, usually European, descent)
• pounamu (Greenstone)
• Tangata Whenua (literally people of the land, an alternative name for the Maori)
• tangi (funeral and/or wake)
• taonga (sacred treasure or gift)
• waka (canoe)
• whanau (family)

See also: New Zealand English