tapahi

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *tapasi ~ *tapas-i (“to cut” – compare with Rarotongan tapaʻi “to chop down lengthwise, to cleave”, Tahitian tapahi “to cut or split a fruit into two, to cut down a tree”, Samoan tafa, Tongan tafa “to cut open (of boils), to incise, to carve”), from Proto-Oceanic *tapasi (compare with Fijian tava “to cut with a knife, to castrate”) from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tabas (compare with Malay tebas “to slash or cut down grasses, small plants”, Tagalog tabas “to cut fabric, paper”). Doublet of tapa.

Verb

tapahi (passive tapahia)

1. to cut, to chop
2. to reap, to harvest (of crops like wheat)
3. to amputate limbs

Derived terms

• tapahanga
• tapatapahi

Further reading

• Williams, Herbert William (1917) “tapahi”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 446
• “tapahi” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.