Maori

noun

Mao·​ri ˈmau̇(-ə)r-ē How to pronounce Maori (audio)
plural Maori or Maoris
1
: a member of a Polynesian people native to New Zealand
2
: the Polynesian language of the Maori people

Examples of Maori in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web No Maori Allowed, directed by Corinna Hunziger was named the winner of the Pasifika Award and recipient of a $5,000 cash prize at the Hawaii International Film Festival. Patrick Frater, Variety, 26 Oct. 2023 Canada has recognized First Nations treaty rights in its Constitution, and New Zealand signed a treaty with the Maori in the late 1800s. Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2023 Caught up in grief, and pulled by a dark attraction to her late-sister’s fiancé, Mia soon uncovers the wider tensions and mysterious forces cleaving apart a rugged mountain community, setting environmentalists and Maori farmers against one another. Ben Croll, Variety, 9 Oct. 2023 These findings are based on a careful study of the oral histories of the Maori and other related cultures, which describe encounters with a land to the south that probably was Antarctica. Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 27 Sep. 2023 But since the release of the Kiwi Encounter video, New Zealanders, including Paora Haitana, the bird’s namesake and an environmentalist and Maori leader who was part of that visiting group, have questioned whether it is being appropriately cared for in its Florida home. Natasha Frost, New York Times, 24 May 2023 The next year, the Natural History Museum conducted its first international repatriation of human remains, returning the remains of 54 Indigenous people, including the heads of four Maori people, to New Zealand. Claire Healy, Washington Post, 14 Aug. 2023 New Zealand – or Aotearoa as it is known to the Maori – recently hosted a public consultation on whether to include te reo Maori on 94 types of road signs, including for place names, speed limits, warnings and expressway advisories. Chris Lau, CNN, 29 July 2023 The idea of developing a national Maori flag first arose in the 1980s, inspired by the use of the Aboriginal flag in Australia, also as part of an Indigenous protest movement. Rachel Pannett, Washington Post, 20 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Maori.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Maori māori, literally, normal, ordinary

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of Maori was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near Maori

Cite this Entry

“Maori.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Maori. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

Maori

noun
Mao·​ri ˈmau̇(ə)r-ē How to pronounce Maori (audio)
plural Maori or Maoris
1
: a member of a Polynesian people native to New Zealand
2
: the language of the Maori

More from Merriam-Webster on Maori

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