English Explanatory Dictionary

marae

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A Polynesian sacred altar or enclosure.
  2. The courtyard of a Maori wharenui or meeting-house, seen as a cultural and spiritual focal point; (by extension) the buildings and people around it; a spiritual or cultural centre.

Pronunciation

/məˈɹaɪ/

Word forms

marae maraes marai morai

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori marae and Tahitian marae, from Proto-Oceanic *malaqe.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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