pounamu
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]pounamu (uncountable)
- (New Zealand) greenstone
- 2021 December 6, Charlotte Graham-McLay, “In New Zealand, the Fishhook Pendant Called Hei Matau”, in The New York Times[1]:
- Over time, the hooks became increasingly stylized and now are a popular shape for decorative pounamu pendants called hei matau, the first word indicating that the matau is worn around the neck.
Hawaiian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]pounamu
Maori
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Component namu “green-blue, grue” from Proto-Eastern Polynesian *namu (compare with Tahitian ninamu).[1] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adjective
[edit]pounamu
Noun
[edit]pounamu
- greenstone, nephrite
- Synonym: pounemu
- glass bottle
Descendants
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Dodgson, Neil, Chen, Victoria, Zahido, Meimuna (2024 November) “The colonisation of the colour pink: variation and change in Māori’s colour lexicon”, in Linguistics, , page 9
Further reading
[edit]Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Maori
- English terms derived from Maori
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- New Zealand English
- English terms with quotations
- en:Gems
- Hawaiian terms borrowed from Maori
- Hawaiian terms derived from Maori
- Hawaiian lemmas
- Hawaiian nouns
- haw:Gems
- haw:Minerals
- Maori terms inherited from Proto-Eastern Polynesian
- Maori terms derived from Proto-Eastern Polynesian
- Maori lemmas
- Maori adjectives
- Maori nouns
- mi:Gems
- mi:Minerals