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whiri. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
whiri, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
whiri in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
whiri you have here. The definition of the word
whiri will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
whiri, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Maori
Etymology 1
From Proto-Polynesian *fili (compare with Hawaiian hili (“to braid, to plait, to turn aside”), Tahitian firi (“to plait”) and ‘ōfiri (“to wrap around”), Tongan fili and Samoan fili),[1][2] from Proto-Oceanic from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *piliN (compare with Malay pilin).[3]
Verb
whiri
- to twist
- to weave
Ko ngā turu o aua taonga he mea uhi ki te kākahu pūtiotio, he mea whiri.- The chairs of that furniture were covered in rough woven cloth.
- to spin
- to curl or fold one's hands
Derived terms
References
- ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, pages 624-5
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “firi.1”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
- ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 3: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 84, 286
Etymology 2
From Proto-Polynesian *fili (compare with Tongan fili, Samoan fili and filifili), from Proto-Oceanic (compare with Fijian vili (“to pick, to gather”)), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *piliq (compare with Malay pilih, Tagalog pili and pumili, Malagasy fidy), from Proto-Austronesian *piliq.[1][2]
Verb
whiri
- to choose, to select, to elect
- to pick
- to decide
Derived terms
References
- ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, pages 624-5
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “fili.1”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
Further reading
- “whiri” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.