Rapa Nui
/ˌrɑːpə ˈnuːi/noun
The Polynesian name for Easter Island, a remote volcanic island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean.
Did you know?The island is also associated with the Indigenous name Te Pito o te Henua, often translated as “the navel of the world,” though the exact historical usage and interpretation are debated.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*nui
“Great, large, or important; the ancestral form of the second element.”
Ancient Polynesian
Polynesian languages
nui
“Large, great, or important; cognate forms appear throughout Polynesia.”
Pre-European period
Rapa Nui language
Rapa Nui
“The island’s Polynesian name, literally “Great Rapa”; the origin of Rapa is uncertain and may refer to another Polynesian island.”
18th Century
European records
Easter Island
“The English name given after Jacob Roggeveen’s recorded arrival on Easter Sunday in 1722.”
19th Century–Modern English
English / Rapa Nui
Rapa Nui
“The Indigenous Polynesian name increasingly used in English alongside Easter Island, especially in cultural, political, and academic contexts.”