Moa-Hunting
/ˈmoʊ.ə ˌhʌn.tɪŋ/noun
The hunting of moa, the extinct flightless birds once native to New Zealand.
Did you know?Some moa species stood over three metres tall, and archaeological evidence indicates that Māori hunters rapidly drove them to extinction after human settlement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*moa
“Fowl or domesticated chicken; the ancestral form associated with later Polynesian bird names.”
Early Polynesian
Polynesian
moa
“Chicken or bird, a form preserved across several Polynesian languages.”
14th–15th Century
Māori
moa
“A large flightless bird of New Zealand, now extinct.”
Old English
Old English
huntian
“To chase or pursue game; the ancestor of modern English hunt.”
Middle English
English
hunting
“The activity of pursuing and killing game animals.”
Modern English
English
moa-hunting
“The hunting of moa, especially in archaeological and historical descriptions of precolonial New Zealand.”