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atamai. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
atamai, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
atamai in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
atamai you have here. The definition of the word
atamai will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
atamai, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Maori
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *qata-mai (compare with Tahitian atama (“intelligence”), Tongan ʻatamai (“intelligence”))[1] from Proto-Oceanic *qataq (“to know”)[2][3]
Adjective
atamai
- nimble
- intelligent, smart, quickwitted, of sharp mind
References
- ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 27
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “qatamai.a”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
- ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2016) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volumes 5: People, body and mind, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 175-6
Further reading
- “atamai” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.