Moa-Hunter
/ˈmoʊ.ə ˌhʌn.tər/noun
A person, especially an early Māori inhabitant of New Zealand, who hunted moa.
Did you know?“Moa-hunter” is strongly associated with early Māori communities, but archaeologists generally avoid treating it as the name of a separate ancient ethnic group.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*moa
“Fowl or chicken; the ancestral Polynesian word later applied to New Zealand’s enormous flightless bird.”
Before 1300 CE
Māori
moa
“A large, extinct, flightless bird native to Aotearoa New Zealand.”
Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*huntoną
“To hunt, pursue, or capture animals.”
Old English
Old English
huntian
“To chase or pursue game.”
Middle English
Middle English
hunte
“A hunt or pursuit of animals; the agent noun later developed as hunter.”
19th Century
New Zealand English
moa-hunter
“An archaeological term for people associated with hunting and processing moa.”
Modern English
English
moa-hunter
“A person who hunted moa, especially in descriptions of early Māori life and archaeology.”