atamai

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Maori

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Etymology

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From Proto-Polynesian *qata-mai (compare with Tahitian atama (“intelligence”), Tongan ʻatamai (“intelligence”))[1] from Proto-Oceanic *qataq (“to know”)[2][3]

Adjective

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atamai

  1. nimble
  2. intelligent, smart, quickwitted, of sharp mind

References

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  1. ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary‎[1], Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 27
  2. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “qatamai.a”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
  3. ^ 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

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  • “atamai” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
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