Maori
/ˈmaʊri/noun
A Polynesian people of New Zealand; also the Eastern Polynesian language of the Māori.
Did you know?Māori is an endonym from the Māori language, commonly glossed as 'normal' or 'ordinary,' a striking reminder that many peoples simply called themselves 'the people' rather than adopting a mystical or imperial label.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
PPN
*maqoli
“likely 'true, real, genuine' or 'human, ordinary' (reconstructed meaning is uncertain)”
Eastern Polynesian
EP
*maori
“ordinary, normal, natural; a native person”
Pre-European New Zealand
Māori
māori
“ordinary, normal; the indigenous people of New Zealand”
19th Century
English
Maori
“the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand”
Modern English
English
Māori
“the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand; the Māori language”