Waka
/ˈwɑː.kə/noun
A Māori canoe or other traditional vessel, especially a large ceremonial or war canoe.
Did you know?Māori tribal identity is often traced through waka traditions, with ancestral canoes forming the origin stories of major iwi, or tribes.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*waka
“Canoe or vessel”
Early Polynesian
Polynesian
*vaka
“Canoe; vessel”
Before 1300 CE
Māori
waka
“Canoe or vessel”
14th–18th Century
Māori
waka
“Canoe, including vessels used for travel, warfare, ceremony, and migration”
Modern English
English
waka
“A Māori canoe, especially a traditional or ceremonial one”