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whā. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
whā, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
whā in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
whā you have here. The definition of the word
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whā, 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 *fa, from Proto-Oceanic *pat, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.
Numeral
whā
- four
Etymology 2
From Proto-Polynesian *faqa (“leaf stalk” – compare with Tahitian fā “stalk of banana, coconut or taro leaf”, Tongan faʻa, Samoan faʻa), from Proto-Oceanic *paqa (compare with Fijian ba (“taro stalk”)), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *palaqpaq (“midrib of coconut leaf” – compare with Malay pelepah, Tagalog palapa);[1][2][3] generalization from lack of coconuts found naturally in New Zealand.[4]
For sense of feather, compare with Malay bulu pelepah (lit. “frond hair/fur”).
Noun
whā
- any leaf of certain plants like taro and harakeke with a long and thick rachis (stalk)
- feather
- Synonym: huru
Derived terms
References
- ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “faqa.1”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
- ^ “Niu”, in Te Māra Reo, Benson Family Trust, 2023
- ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 3: Plants, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 380-1
- ^ Bruce Biggs (1994) “New Words for a New World”, in A. K. Pawley, M. D. Ross, editors, Austronesian Terminologies: Continuity and Change (Pacific Linguistics Series C; 127), Australian National University, →DOI, page 29
Further reading
- Williams, Herbert William (1917) “whā”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 568
- “whā” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.