Kainga
/ˈkaɪŋə/noun
A Māori village, settlement, or traditional dwelling place, especially in New Zealand usage.
Did you know?Kāinga is traditionally linked to Māori kai, “food,” reflecting the idea of a settlement as a shared place of nourishment rather than merely a building.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*kainga
“A reconstructed settlement or home; traditionally analyzed as connected with *kai, “to eat,” plus a nominal-forming suffix.”
Eastern Polynesian
Eastern Polynesian
*kainga
“A home, village, or inhabited settlement.”
Māori
Māori
kāinga
“Home, dwelling, village, settlement, or inhabited place.”
19th Century
New Zealand English
kainga
“A Māori village or settlement adopted into English colonial and ethnographic writing.”
Modern English
English
kainga
“A Māori village, settlement, or dwelling place, generally used in New Zealand contexts.”