English
kakapo
Kakapo comes from Māori kākāpō, from pō ‘night’, and ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *po.
- Proto-Polynesianprehistoric (reconstructed)*poreconstructed
- Māorimodernpō‘night’
- Māori, derivedmodernkākāpō
- Englishearliest quotation 2018kakapo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Polynesianprehistoric (reconstructed)*poreconstructed
- Māorimodernpō‘night’
- Māori, derivedmodernkākāpō
- Englishearliest quotation 2018kakapo
Earliest quotation: 2018, Hanneke Meijer: “Analyses of the DNA fragments preserved in the moa…”
Every English word from Proto-Polynesian *po
Today it means
noun A large flightless parrot, Strigops habroptilus, with greenish plumage, that is nocturnal and native to New Zealand.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Polynesian *po / kakapo