Fakafifine
/ˌfa.ka.fiˈfi.neɪ/noun
A Tongan term traditionally referring to a person assigned male at birth who adopts feminine roles, behavior, or presentation.
Did you know?Fakafifine is built from Tongan faka-, meaning “in the manner or way of,” and fifine, “woman”; it is related culturally—but not identical—to Samoan fa’afafine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*fafine
“Woman or female; the ancestral form behind related Polynesian words.”
Early Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*faka-
“A prefix meaning “in the manner of,” “like,” or “causing to be.””
Pre-European Tongan
Tongan
fifine
“Woman; a Tongan reflex of the wider Polynesian *fafine family.”
Pre-European Tongan
Tongan
faka-fifine
“In a woman-like manner or adopting feminine characteristics.”
Modern English usage
English
fakafifine
“A Tongan gender-related cultural term used in English-language discussions of Polynesian gender diversity.”
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