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List Of English Words Of Māori Origin
The following Māori words exist as loanwords in English. Many of them concern endemic New Zealand flora and fauna that were known prior to the arrival of Europeans in New Zealand. Other terms relate to Māori customs. All of these words are commonly encountered in New Zealand English, and several (such as ''kiwi'') are widely used across other varieties of English, and in other languages. The Māori alphabet includes both long and short vowels, which change the meaning of words. For most of the 20th century, these were not indicated by spelling, except sometimes as double vowels (''paaua''). Since the 1980s, the standard way to indicate long vowels is with a macron (''pāua''). Since about 2015, macrons have rapidly become standard usage for Māori loanwords in New Zealand English in media, law, government, and education. Recently some anglicised words have been replaced with spellings that better reflect the original Māori word (Whanganui for Wanganui, Remutaka for Rimutaka). ...
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Māori Language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and Tahitian, it gained recognition as one of New Zealand's official languages in 1987. The number of speakers of the language has declined sharply since 1945, but a Māori-language revitalisation effort has slowed the decline. The 2018 New Zealand census reported that about 186,000 people, or 4.0% of the New Zealand population, could hold a conversation in Māori about everyday things. , 55% of Māori adults reported some knowledge of the language; of these, 64% use Māori at home and around 50,000 people can speak the language "very well" or "well". The Māori language did not have an indigenous writing system. Missionaries arriving from about 1814, such as Thomas Kendall, learned to speak Māori, and introduced the Latin alphabet. In 1 ...
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Katipō
The katipō (''Latrodectus katipo'') is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. It is one of many species in the genus ''Latrodectus'', such as the Australian redback (''L. hasseltii''), and the North American black widow. The species is venomous to humans, capable of delivering a potentially dangerous bite. It is a small to medium-sized spider, with the female having a round black or brown pea-sized body. Red katipō females, found in the South Island and the lower half of the North Island, are always black, and their abdomen has a distinctive red stripe bordered in white. In black katipō females, found in the upper half of the North Island, this stripe is absent, pale, yellow, or replaced with cream-coloured blotches. These two forms were previously thought to be separate species. The male is much smaller than the female and quite different in appearance: white with black stripes and red diamond-shaped markings. Katipō are mainly found living in sand dunes cl ...
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Cyathea Medullaris
''Sphaeropteris medullaris'', synonym ''Cyathea medullaris'', commonly known as mamaku or black tree fern, is a large tree fern up to 20 m tall. It is distributed across the south-west Pacific from Fiji to Pitcairn Island. Its other Māori names include katātā, kōrau, or pītau. Distribution ''Sphaeropteris medullaris'' is common in lowland forest throughout the North Island of New Zealand. In the South Island its distribution is more localised. It is fairly common in wetter coastal areas, but rare in the drier eastern parts and absent in Canterbury and Otago. In New Zealand it also occurs on the Three Kings Islands in the far north, on Stewart Island/Rakiura in the far south and in the Chatham Islands. Its distribution also includes Fiji, the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti, the Austral Islands, and Pitcairn Island. It is not present in the Kermadecs. Description The trunk is black and covered with distinctive hexagonal stipe bases. The fronds may be up to 5 m long, and arch ...
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Mako Shark
''Isurus'' is a genus of mackerel sharks in the family Lamnidae, commonly known as the mako sharks. Description The two living species are the common shortfin mako shark (''I. oxyrinchus'') and the rare longfin mako shark (''I. paucus''). They range in length from , and have an approximate maximum weight of . They both have a distinctive blue-gray color scheme common among mackerel sharks. Several extinct species are known from fossils found in sediments from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary (age range: 99.7 to 0.781 million years ago). The family Lamnidae also includes the great white shark and the porbeagle. Mako sharks are capable of swimming at speeds up to . The great white shark is also closely related to an ancient mako shark species, ''Isurus hastalis''. However, fossil evidence suggests ''I. hastalis'', like the great white shark, also belonged to the genus ''Carcharodon''. Species The genus contains these species: * ''Isurus oxyrinchus'' (Rafinesque, 1810) (shortfin ...
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Sweet Potato
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable. The young shoots and leaves are sometimes eaten as Leaf vegetable, greens. Sweet potato cultivars, Cultivars of the sweet potato have been bred to bear tubers with flesh and skin of various colors. Sweet potato is only distantly related to the common potato (''Solanum tuberosum''), both being in the order Solanales. Although darker sweet potatoes are often referred to as "yams" in parts of North America, the species is not a yam (vegetable), true yam, which are monocots in the order Dioscoreales. Sweet potato is native to the tropical regions of the Americas. Of the approximately 50 Convolvulaceae#Genera, genera and more than 1,000 species of Convolvulaceae, ''I. batatas'' is the only crop plant of major importance—some o ...
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Kōkako
Kōkako (''Callaeas'') are two species of endangered forest birds which are endemic to New Zealand, the North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') and the presumably extinct South Island kōkako (''Callaeas cinereus''). They are both slate-grey with wattles and have black masks. They belong to a genus containing five known species of New Zealand wattlebird, the other three being two species of tieke (saddleback) and the extinct huia. Previously widespread, kōkako populations throughout New Zealand have been decimated by the predations of mammalian invasive species such as possums, stoats, cats and rats, and their range has contracted significantly. In the past this bird was called the New Zealand crow; however, it is not a crow at all, but it looks like one from a distance. The spelling ''kokako'' (without a macron) is common in New Zealand English. Taxonomy The kōkako appears to be a remnant of an early expansion of passerines in New Zealand and is one of five species of ...
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Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi in North American, British and continental European English) or Chinese gooseberry is the edible berry of several species of woody vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...s in the genus '' Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (''Actinidia deliciosa'' 'Hayward') is oval, about the size of a large Egg (food), hen's egg: in length and in diameter. It has a thin, fuzzy, fibrous, tart but edible light brown skin and light green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. The fruit has a soft texture with a sweet and unique flavour. Kiwifruit is native to central and eastern China. The first recorded description of the kiwifruit dates to the 12th century during the Song dynasty. In the early 20th ce ...
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Kiwi (other)
Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also refer to: Music * Kiwi (band), a girl group from Mongolia * "Kiwi" (song), a 2017 song by Harry Styles * "Kiwi", a 2007 song by Maroon 5 from '' It Won't Be Soon Before Long'' Radio * KIWI, a radio station in California, U.S. * Kiwi FM, a New Zealand radio network Ships * HMNZS ''Kiwi'' (T102), a minesweeper commissioned in 1941 * HMNZS ''Kiwi'' (P3554), a patrol boat commissioned in 1983 Sports * Kiwi (horse) (1977–1995), a thoroughbred racehorse * Kiwis (rugby league), the New Zealand national rugby league team * Kiwi FC or Vailima Kiwi FC, a Samoan football club * Kiwi Soccers, an American Samoan football club Travel * Kiwi.com, a Czech online travel agency * Kiwi International Air Lines, an American airline 1992–1999 * Ki ...
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Kina (animal)
Kina (''Evechinus chloroticus'') is a sea urchin endemic to New Zealand. This echinoderm belongs to the family Echinometridae and it can reach a maximum diameter of 16–17 cm. Kina have been a traditional component of Māori diet since pre-European times and has been fished commercially since 1986 in small quantities under the quota management system in restricted areas along the coast of New Zealand. Attempts to export ''E. chloroticus'' to Asian markets have been unsuccessful, so it may not be an economically attractive species for aquaculture development (James 2010). ''Evechinus chloroticus'' is distributed throughout New Zealand and in some northern and southern offshore islands. Habitat This sea urchin is found all around New Zealand in shallow waters around 12–14 metres deep, although there are also intertidal populations in the north of both the North and South Islands. ''Evechinus chloroticus'' prefers areas with moderate wave action. In the north of New Zeal ...
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Kererū
The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae'') or New Zealand pigeon is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin described the bird in 1789 as a large, conspicuous pigeon up to in length and in weight, with a white breast and iridescent green–blue plumage. Two subspecies have been recognised; the second—the Norfolk pigeon of Norfolk Island—became extinct in the early 20th century. Kererū pairs are monogamous, breeding over successive seasons and remaining together when not breeding. They construct nests with twigs in trees, with a single egg clutch. Found in a variety of habitats across the country, the kererū feeds mainly on fruits, as well as leaves, buds and flowers. Although widespread in both forest and urban habitats, its numbers have declined significantly since European colonisation and the arrival of invasive mammals such as rats, stoats and possums. However, the results of nationwide bird surveys indicate that there has been a sign ...
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Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoidea ("true" parrots), the Cacatuoidea (cockatoos), and the Strigopoidea (New Zealand parrots). One-third of all parrot species are threatened by extinction, with higher aggregate extinction risk ( IUCN Red List Index) than any other comparable bird group. Parrots have a generally pantropical distribution with several species inhabiting temperate regions in the Southern Hemisphere, as well. The greatest diversity of parrots is in South America and Australasia. Characteristic features of parrots include a strong, curved bill, an upright stance, strong legs, and clawed zygodactyl feet. Many parrots are vividly coloured, and some are multi-coloured. Most parrots exhibit little or no sexual dimorphism in the visual spectrum. They form the most ...
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