Fakaleitī
/ˌfɑː.kɑːˈleɪ.tiː/noun
A Tongan cultural term for a person assigned male at birth who lives in a feminine gender role or identity.
Did you know?The second part, leiti, is a Tongan adaptation of English “lady,” showing how colonial-era loanwords became part of a distinct Polynesian gender vocabulary.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*hlaibadī
“A woman associated with bread-making; the feminine counterpart of a household bread-keeper”
Old English
Old English
hlǣfdige
“Lady; literally connected with a loaf or bread-kneader”
Middle English
Middle English
ladi
“Lady, a woman of rank or social standing”
19th–20th Century
Tongan
leiti
“A Tongan adaptation of English “lady””
Modern Tongan
Tongan
fakaleitī
“A person living in a feminine gender role or identity, literally “in the manner of a lady””