tāwhiri

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *taafiri (compare with Tahitian tāhiri and tāhirihiri “fan”, Hawaiian kāhili “ceremonial staff or regalia”).[1][2] Doublet of tāhiri.

Noun

tāwhiri

  1. welcoming, a welcome

Verb

tāwhiri

  1. to wave
  2. to whirl
  3. to beckon, to welcome
  4. to fan (esp. of flames)
    Synonyms: kōwhiuwhiu, kōheuheu, pōwaiwai
  5. to wring out

References
  1. Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary‎, Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 499
  2. Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “taa-firi”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online

Further reading
  • “tāwhiri” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
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