Kākāpō
/ˈkɑː.kəˌpoʊ/noun
A large, flightless, nocturnal parrot native to New Zealand.
Did you know?The Māori name combines kākā, meaning “parrot,” with pō, meaning “night,” describing the bird’s nocturnal behavior rather than invoking a supernatural origin.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*kaka
“A parrot or parrot-like bird; the form is associated with Māori kāka.”
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*poqo
“Night or darkness; this ancestral form developed into Māori pō.”
Before European contact
Māori
kākāpō
“Literally “night parrot,” formed from kākā, “parrot,” and pō, “night.””
1770s
English
kakapo
“English borrowing of the Māori bird name, initially recorded by European visitors to New Zealand.”
Modern English
English
kakapo
“The flightless, nocturnal New Zealand parrot Strigops habroptilus.”