English Explanatory Dictionary

Matariki

English dictionary entry

Meanings

name
  1. The season, in late May or early June, when the Pleiades star cluster first rises, treated as the beginning of the new year by the Maori.

Word forms

Matariki

Etymology

Borrowed from Māori Matariki, in turn derived from Proto-Eastern Polynesian *matafiti, Proto-Eastern Polynesian *matasiti One Maori folk etymology claims it represents ngā + mata + o + te + ariki + o + Tāwhirimātea, meaning "the eyes of the [wind] god Tāwhirimātea". In Māori legend, the Pleiades star cluster which it is named after was from Tāwhirimātea's plucked eyes. Cognate with Hawaiian makahiki.

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