Tangata
/ˈtaŋata/noun
A Māori word meaning a person, human being, or people.
Did you know?In Māori, tangata appears in tangata whenua—literally “people of the land”—a foundational expression of ancestral belonging rather than merely personal identity.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Austronesian
PAN
*taŋata
“Person or human being; a reconstructed ancestral form associated with the Austronesian language family.”
Proto-Polynesian
PPN
*taŋata
“Person, human being, or people.”
Old Māori
Māori
tangata
“A person, human being, or people.”
Classical Māori
Māori
tāngata
“People or human beings; the long vowel can mark the plural in modern Māori orthography.”
Modern English
English
tangata
“A Māori loanword used in English-language writing, especially in cultural, historical, and anthropological contexts.”