kaitiaki
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Maori.
Noun
kaitiaki (countable and uncountable, plural kaitiakis or kaitiaki)
- (New Zealand, uncountable) The Māori concept of guardianship of the natural environment.
- (New Zealand, countable) In Māori culture, a person serving as a guardian of the natural environment.
- 2019, Jeannette Bastian, Andrew Flinn, Community Archives, Community Spaces: Heritage, Memory and Identity, page 72:
- Kaitiaki are rarely resourced to respond to the many requests for their time and expertise.
Maori
Etymology
Noun
kaitiaki
Derived terms
- kaitiakitanga (“guardianship”)
Further reading
- “kaitiaki” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.