English

Etymology

From Maori. Literal translation: "Long White Cloud" (ao = cloud/daytime/world tea = white, roa = long/tall). Often translated as "The land of the long white cloud". Probably a reference to the appearance of mountanous land when seen on the horizon from a canoe after an ocean voyage. Allegedly the first English language mention was in the February 1916 New Zealand School Journal (King, 2004).

===Pronuncuation===
IPA : /,aʊəteɪ'roʊə/, /'aɔtea'rɔa/
X-SAMPA : /%aU@teI"roU@/, /"aOtea"rOa/

Proper noun

Aotearoa

1. (New Zealand) The country of New Zealand.
2. (New Zealand) Land of the long white cloud (toponymic translation from Maori).
3. (New Zealand) Long white cloud (literal translation from Maori).
4. (New Zealand) The North Island of New Zealand (obsolete).

Quotation

"Aotearoa / rugged individual / glistens like a pearl at the bottom of the world" (Split Enz, Six Months in a Leaky Boat, 1981)

Synonyms

• New Zealand
• Aotearoa New Zealand

Derived terms

• Aotearoan

See also

• Kiwi

References

• The Dictionary of New Zeland English: A Dictionary of New Zealandisms on Historical Principles (1997). H.W. Orsman (editor). Auckland: Oxford University Press.
• The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary (2005). T. Deverson & G. Kennedy (editors). Victora: Oxford University Press.
• King, M. (2004). The Penguin History of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin Books.