matalafi

English

Etymology

From Samoan matalafi.

Noun

matalafi (plural matalafis)

1. A shrub, of species Psychotria insularum, used for medicine and found in American Samoa, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga.
   • 2001 May, Samoan Medical Plants and Their Usage, ADAP Project, →ISBN, page A8:

     Use matalafi leaves; pound and mix with water; apply to the swelling.

2. Medicine made from the shrub.
   • 2021, Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni, Victoria Helen Woolner, Su’emalo Talie Foliga, Katharina Robichon, Vimal Patel, Sarah K. Andreassend, Jeffrey P. Sheridan, Tama Te Kawa, David Gresham, Darach Miller, Daniel J. Sinclair, Anne C. La Flamme, Alexey V. Melnik, Allegra Aron, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Paul H. Atkinson, Robert A. Keyzers, Andrew B. Munkacsi, “Functional genomics and metabolomics advance the ethnobotany of the Samoan traditional medicine “matalafi””, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America:

Samoan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌma.ta.ˈla.fi/
• Hyphenation: ma‧ta‧la‧fi

Noun

matalafi

1. Matalafi (Psychotria insularum).
2. Medicine made from this plant.
3. Wedges used to tighten sennit fastenings of a canoe.

Descendants

• → English: matalafi

References

• George Pratt (1893) Grammar and Dictionary of the Samoan language, London Missionary Society, page 214

Tongan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma.ta.la.fi/

Noun

matalafi

1. Wedges used for tightening cordage in ropes.

References

• A Vocabulary of the Tonga Language: Arranged in Alphabetical Order: To Which Is Annexed a List of Idiomatic Phrases, by Stephen Rabone (1845), published by Wesleyan Mission Press, Neiafu