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motu. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
motu, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
motu in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
motu you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From a descendant of Proto-Polynesian *motu.
Pronunciation
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Noun
motu (plural motus)
- A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand, surrounding an atoll.
See also
Anagrams
Finnish
Etymology
From Motu .
Pronunciation
Noun
motu
- Motu (language)
Declension
Derived terms
- compounds
Anagrams
Isubu
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀ntʊ̀.
Noun
motu m (plural batu)
- a man, an adult male
References
- Joseph Merrick, Alfred Saker, A Grammar of the Isubu Tongue (1852)
Latin
Noun
mōtū m
- ablative singular of mōtus (“movement, motion”)
Maori
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *motu (compare with Hawaiian moku)[1] from Proto-Oceanic *motus (“broken off, detached”) (compare with Fijian yamotu),[2] possibly from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-utus.
Noun
motu
- island, country, land, nation, clump of trees, ship; anything separated or isolated
- cut, wound
Verb
motu
- to sever, cut, cut off, set free, separate
- to be separated, moved to a distance - especially in the phrase motu ki te ara
- to be set free, escape
- (stative) to be cut, severed
See also
References
- ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, pages 254-5
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “motu.b”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
Further reading
- “motu” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
Niuean
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *motu.
Noun
motu
- island
Rapa Nui
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *motu (compare with Maori motu, Hawaiian moku) from Proto-Oceanic *motus (“broken off, detached”) (compare with Fijian yamotu),[1] possibly from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-utus.
Noun
motu
- island (usually a small islet)
References
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “motu.b”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
Tahitian
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *motu (compare with Maori motu, Hawaiian moku) from Proto-Oceanic *motus (“broken off, detached”) (compare with Fijian yamotu),[1] possibly from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-utus.
Noun
motu
- island
References
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “motu.b”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
Tongan
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *motu (compare with Maori motu, Hawaiian moku) from Proto-Oceanic *motus (“broken off, detached”) (compare with Fijian yamotu),[1] possibly from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-utus.
Pronunciation
Noun
motu
- island
References
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “motu.b”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online