Historians and language experts agree that the original meaning of the word Pākehā is most likely to be ‘pale, imaginary beings resembling men’, referring to a sea-dwelling, godlike people in Māori mythology. It has been used to describe Europeans, and then New Zealanders of European descent since before 1815.

Capital letters are eye-catching and signify an importance greater than that of uncapitalised words. The ‘P’ in Pakeha is capitalised, as is the ‘A’ in Asian, the ‘M’ in Maori, the ‘I’ in Irish, and so on.

Many Māori learned to read and write. Following wars between tribes and the impact of new diseases, more Māori converted to Christianity. Missionaries began to act as intermediaries between tribes, and between Māori and Pākehā. They had an important influence on the Māori who signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840.

Hori is an ethnic slur used against people of Māori descent. The term comes from a Māori-language approximation of the English name George, which was very popular during the early years of European colonisation of New Zealand.

Pakeha, which is a Maori term for the white inhabitants of New Zealand, was in vogue even prior to 1815. Its original meaning and origin are obscure, but the following are possible origins, the first being the most probable: From pakepakeha: imaginary beings resembling men. From pakehakeha: one of the sea gods.

Being Māori is so much more than blood quantum. In New Zealand, many believed there are no full-blood Māori left. As Māori, we rely on passing down our ancestry or whakapapa from one generation to the next. This is how we identify ourselves.

The British Government thought that Aotearoa would be a good base in the Pacific for Britain. Many British families packed their bags and boarded ships to start a new life in a land they had never seen on the other side of the world.

Early European explorers introduced a wide range of food plants to New Zealand, including wheat, maize, potatoes, cabbage and carrots. An American whaler introduced a variety of kūmara (sweet potato) that was larger than the kūmara Māori previously grew.

New Zealand Slang Terms Beaut, beauty — Something good or outstanding.

Biblical Names Meaning: In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Hori is: A prince; freeborn.

Being Māori is so much more than blood quantum. In New Zealand, many believed there are no full-blood Māori left. It’s often been used by critics of Māori who seek equal rights and sovereignty. My results, at least, show there is one full-blooded Māori contrary to that belief.

No fire engine reds here, only a fierce collection of vibrant words for the color red to test yourself on. What does “amaranth” mean? What does pakeha mean? Pakeha is a Maori term for white people, especially New Zealanders of European descent.

Pākehā (or Pakeha; / ˈpɑːkɛhɑː, – kiːhɑː, – kiːə /; Māori pronunciation: [ˈpaːkɛhaː]) is a Māori-language term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. The term can also apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Zealander.

Others claim that pakepakehā was another name for tūrehu or patupairehe. Dispite the claims of some non-Māori speakers, the term does not normally have negative connotations.

There is no etymological support for this notion—like all Polynesian languages, Māori is generally very conservative in terms of vowels; it would be extremely unusual for pā- to derive from poaka.