English
hapu
Hapu comes from Māori hapū ‘pregnant’.
- Māorimodernhapū‘pregnant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983hapu
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Māorimodernhapū‘pregnant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983hapu
Earliest quotation: 1983, Keri Hulme, The Bone People: “I don't know whose family it belongs in. I…”
Every English word from Māori hapū
Today it means
noun A subtribe of an iwi or Maori tribe; the basic political unit within Māori society; a subtribe or extended family.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Māori hapū / hapu