1. Flora and fauna

2. Placenames

3. Other words and phrases

4. Word list

5. See also

6. References

7. Further reading

The following Māori words exist as loanwords in English. Many of them concern endemic New Zealand flora and fauna that were known prior to the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. Other terms relate to Māori customs. All of these words are commonly encountered in New Zealand English, and several (such as kiwi) are widely used across other varieties of English, and in other languages.

The Māori alphabet includes both long and short vowels, which change the meaning of words.^[1] For most of the 20th century, these were not indicated by spelling, except sometimes as double vowels (paaua). Since the 1980s, the standard way to indicate long vowels is with a macron (pāua). Since about 2015, macrons have rapidly become standard usage for Māori loanwords in New Zealand English in media, law, government, and education.^[2]

Flora and fauna

The accepted English common names of a number of species of animal and plant endemic to New Zealand are simply their Māori names or a close equivalent:

//Huhu beetle">huhu : a type of large beetle

//huia">huia : a recently extinct bird, much prized traditionally by Māori for its feathers

//New Zealand Kaka">kākā : a native parrot

//Kakapo">kākāpō : a rare native bird

//Dacrycarpus dacrydioides">kahikatea : a type of large tree

//katipo">katipo : a venomous native spider

//kauri">kauri : large conifer in the Araucariaceae

//kea">kea : a parrot, the world's only alpine parrot

//kererū">kererū : the native wood pigeon

//Kina (animal)">kina : the sea-urchin, eaten as a delicacy

//kiwi">kiwi : the bird, a New Zealander, or (but not in New Zealand English) kiwi fruit

//kōkako">kōkako : a rare type of bird

//kowhai">kōwhai : a type of flowering tree

//Sweet potato">kūmara : sweet potato

//Mako Shark">mako : a shark, considered a magnificent fighting game fish

//Cyathea medullaris">mamaku : a type of large tree fern

//moa">moa : extinct giant flightless bird

//pāua">pāua : abalone

//Metrosideros excelsa">pōhutukawa : a type of flowering tree

//Cyathea dealbata">ponga (also spelt punga) : the silver fern, often used as a symbol for New Zealand

//pukeko">pūkeko : a wading bird, the purple swamphen

//Metrosideros">rātā : a type of flowering tree

//rimu">rimu : a tree, the red pine

//takahē">takahē : a rare wading bird

//toheroa">toheroa : a shellfish

//List of plants known as tōtara">tōtara : an evergreen tree

//tuatara">tuatara : rare lizard-like reptile, not closely related to any other living species

//tui (bird)">tūī : the parsonbird

//weka">weka : a flightless bird of the rail family

//weta">wētā : a large native insect, similar to a cricket

//Dicksonia squarrosa">whekī : a type of tree fern

Placenames

Thousands of Māori placenames (with or without anglicisation) are now official in New Zealand. These include:

• Territorial authorities: Waikato, Manawatu, Tauranga, Taranaki, Otago^[3]
• Cities: Tauranga, Whangarei, Waitakere, Timaru, Rotorua
• Tourist destinations: Aoraki/Mount Cook, Tongariro, Manapouri, Moeraki, Wakatipu, Te Anau, Waitomo

There is a movement to replace anglicised words and return placenames to their original Māori forms: see for example Whanganui. Some Treaty of Waitangi settlements have included placename changes.

Many New Zealand rivers and lakes have Māori names; these names predominantly use the prefixes wai- (water) and roto- (lake) respectively. Examples include the Waikato, Waipa and Waimakariri rivers, and lakes Rotorua, Rotomahana and Rotoiti.

A Māori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, has gained some currency as a more acceptable alternative. It appears in the names of some political parties, e.g. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand and Communist Party of Aotearoa.

Other words and phrases

aroha

love, sympathy, compassion

arohanui

"lots of love", commonly as a valediction^[4][5]

//haere mai">haere mai and haere ra: welcome and goodbye (respectively)

//haka">haka : traditional Māori dance, not always a war dance, often performed by New Zealand sports teams to 'intimidate' opponents; see Haka of the All Blacks

//hāngi">hāngi : (1) earth oven used to cook large quantities of food (2) the food cooked in the hāngi

//hapū">hapū: clan or subtribe, part of an iwi

//hikoi">hikoi : march or walk, especially a symbolic walk such as a protest march

//hongi">hongi : traditional Māori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses and sharing of breath

//Hui (Māori assembly)">hui : meeting, conference

//iwi">iwi : tribe

//New Zealand cuisine">kai : food^[6]

kai moana

sea food

//kapa haka">kapa haka : a cultural festival or music and dance

ka pai

very pleasant, good, fine

//karakia">karakia : sung prayer or welcome

//kaupapa">kaupapa : policy or principle, credo

//kāwanatanga">kāwanatanga : sovereignty

//kia kaha">kia kaha : an expression of support, lit. be strong

//kia ora">kia ora : a greeting, lit. be healthy

//koha (custom)">koha : gift, present, offering, donation, contribution^[7]

//kōhanga reo">kōhanga reo : Māori language preschool (literally 'language nest')

kōrero

to talk; to speak Māori; story

//koru">koru : stylised fern frond pattern, used in art

//Kura Kaupapa Māori">Kura Kaupapa Māori: Maori language school

mahinga mātaitai

traditional seafood gathering place

//mana">mana : regard in which someone is held; respect of their authority; reputation^[8]

//manaia (mythological creature)">manaia : guardian spirit, often found in Māori artwork and carving

//Māoritanga">Māoritanga: Māori culture, traditions, and way of life, lit. Māoriness

//marae">marae : a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Māori society

//Matariki">Matariki : midwinter festival, the Māori new year, lit. the star cluster of the Pleiades

mihi

lit. greet, acknowledge; sometimes used for internet board or forum message

//Tā moko">moko : facial tattoo

mokopuna

descendants, young children. Lit. grandchildren

//Ngaire (disambiguation)">Ngaire : woman's name, origin unknown

//pā">pā : hill fort

pakarū

broken, not working; often rendered in New Zealand English as puckeroo or puckerooed

//Pākehā">Pākehā : New Zealander of non-Māori descent, usually European

Papakāinga

land used as housing by a hapu or whanau group

//Poi (performance art)">poi: A dance art that originated in Māori culture and is now popular in object-manipulation communities

//pounamu">pounamu : greenstone, jade, nephrite

//pōwhiri">pōwhiri : ceremony of welcome^[9]

puku

abdomen, tummy

//rāhui">rāhui : a ban or prohibition

//rohe">rohe : homeland, tribal area

//tangata whenua">tangata whenua : home tribe of a given marae or district; by extension, Māori in the New Zealand context, people of the land.^[10]

//taniwha">taniwha : mythical water monster

//Tangihanga">tangi : funeral, rites for the dead

//taonga">taonga : sacred treasure. Māori usage: property, goods, possessions, effects, treasure, something prized. The term whare taonga ("treasure house") is used in the Māori names of museums

//tapu (Polynesian culture)">tapu : sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; (a cognate of the Tongan tabu, origin of the English borrowing of taboo)

//te reo">te reo : the Māori language (literally, 'the language')

//Hei tiki">tiki : stylised representation of a male human, found in Māori artwork and carving

//tino rangatiratanga">tino rangatiratanga : a political term, sometimes translated as "chieftainship"

//tukutuku">tukutuku : traditional woven panels

//Utu (Māori concept)">utu : revenge. Māori usage: revenge, cost, price, wage, fee, payment, salary, reciprocity

wāhi tapu

sacred site

wai

water (found at the start of the names of many New Zealand rivers)

//Māori music">waiata : singing, song

//Waka (canoe)">waka : canoe

//whakapapa">whakapapa: ancestry, heritage

//whānau">whānau: extended family or community of related families^[11]

//whare">whare : house, building

Word list

Many Māori words or phrases that describe Māori culture have become part of New Zealand English and may be used in general (non-Māori) contexts. Some of these are:

• Aotearoa: New Zealand. Popularly interpreted to mean 'land of the long white cloud', but the original derivation is uncertain
• aroha: Love, sympathy, affection^[12]
• arohanui: "lots of love", commonly as a complimentary close^[13][14]
• haere mai: welcome
• haka: a chant and dance of challenge (not always a war dance), popularised by the All Blacks rugby union team, who perform a haka before the game in front of the opposition
• hāngi: a method of cooking food in a pit; or the occasion at which food is cooked this way (compare the Hawaiian use of the word luau)
• hongi: traditional Māori greeting featuring the pressing together of noses
• hui: a meeting; increasingly being used by New Zealand media to describe business meetings relating to Māori affairs
• iwi: tribe, or people
• kai: food^[15]
• kapai: very pleasant; good, fine. From Māori 'ka pai'^[6]
• kaitiaki: guardianship of the environment
• kaupapa: agenda, policy or principle^[16]
• kia ora: hello, and indicating agreement with a speaker (literally 'be healthy')
• koha: donation, contribution^[17]
• kōhanga reo: Māori language preschool (literally 'language nest')
• kōrero: to talk; to speak Māori; story
• Kura Kaupapa Māori: Maori language school
• mana: influence, reputation — a combination of authority, integrity, power and prestige^[18]
• Māoritanga: Māori culture, traditions, and way of life. Lit. Māoriness.
• marae: ceremonial meeting area in front of the meeting house; or the entire complex surrounding this, including eating and sleeping areas
• Pākehā: Non-Maori New Zealanders, especially those with European ancestry
• piripiri: clinging seed, origin of New Zealand English 'biddy-bid'.
• pōwhiri: ceremony of welcome^[19]
• puku: belly, usually a big one^[20]
• rāhui: restriction of access
• tāngata whenua: native people of a country or region, i.e. the Māori in New Zealand (literally 'people of the land')^[21]
• tapu: sacred, taboo; to be avoided because of this; (a cognate of the Tongan tabu, origin of the English borrowing of taboo)
• tangi: to mourn; or, a funeral at a marae
• taniwha: mythical water monster
• te reo: the Māori language (literally, 'the language')
• waka: canoe, boat^[22] (modern Māori usage includes automobiles)
• whānau: extended family or community of related families^[23]
• whare: house, building

Other Māori words and phrases may be recognised by most New Zealanders, but generally not used in everyday speech:

• hapū: subtribe; or, pregnant
• kapa haka: cultural gathering involving dance competitions; haka team
• karakia: prayer, used in various circumstances including opening ceremonies
• kaumātua: older person, respected elder
• kia kaha: literally 'be strong'; roughly "be of good heart, we are supporting you"
• Kīngitanga: Māori King Movement
• matangi: wind, breeze ("Matangi" is the name for a class of electric multiple unit trains used on the Wellington suburban network, so named after Wellington's windy reputation).
• mauri: spiritual life force
• mokopuna: literally grandchildren, but can mean any young children
• pakarū: broken, damaged
• rangatira: chief
• rohe: home territory of a specific iwi
• taihoa – not yet, wait a while
• tamariki: children
• tohunga: priest (in Māori use, an expert or highly skilled person)
• tūrangawaewae: one's own turf, "a place to stand"
• tutū: to be rebellious, stirred up, mischievous ^[24] Used in New Zealand English to mean "fidget" or "fiddle" e.g. "Don't tutū with that!"
• urupā: burial ground
• utu: revenge (in Māori, payment, response, answer)
• wāhi tapu: sacred site
• whaikōrero: oratory
• whakapapa: genealogy
• waiata: song
• wairua: spirit

See also

• Māori influence on New Zealand English
• List of Māori plant common names

References

Further reading

• Matthews, R. J. H. (1984). Maori Influence on New Zealand English. World Englishes 3 (3), 156–159. {{doi|10.1111/j.1467-971X.1984.tb00597.x}}

• Dennis Evans (footballer, born 1935)
• Dennis Everberg
• Dennis E. Williams
• Dennis Fadeski
• Dennis Farrell
• Dennis Faulkner
• Dennis F. Cantrell Field
• Dennis Feickert
• Dennis Feldman
• Dennis F. Evans
• Dennis F. Hightower
• Dennis Filmer
• Dennis FitzGerald
• Dennis Fitzpatrick
• Dennis Fitzpatrick (colonial administrator)
• Dennis Flores
• Dennis Formation
• Dennis Fowlkes
• Dennis Fox
• Dennis Frank Thompson
• Dennis Frederick Evans
• Dennis Freidman (Earthmovers) Ltd v Rodney County Council
• Dennis Friedman (Earthmovers) Ltd v Rodney County Council
• Dennis Gannon Lonergan
• Dennis Gastmann