kapiti

Maori

Etymology

Related to āpiti “to add, to attach, to supplement”, karapiti “to grapple, to strangle, to encircle”, and piti “to cling, to attach” ultimately from Proto-Oceanic *kapit-i “to grasp with tongs” affixing *kapit “tongs” (compare with kapi “to cover, to close” and Fijian kabi “to cling, to stick”) from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qapit “to pinch or squeeze” (compare Malay apit “to squeeze between two detached or separate surfaces”).[1][2] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Compare with Rarotongan kāpiti “to join, to unite, pair, couple”, Tahitian piti “two, double, pair”, North Marquesan hāpiti “to tighten, to constrict, to press against”.

Verb

kapiti

  1. to bring close together
  2. to join (of one separate thing to another)
  3. (of teeth) to clench, to shut
  4. to confine or surround (of an area)

Noun

kapiti

  1. cleft, crevice
  2. gorge, pass of a mountain
  3. slot (for receiving cards, coins etc)

References

  1. ^ Compare with “kaapiti.1”, “kapi.1” and “piti” in Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011). POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online.
  2. ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (1998) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 1: Material Culture, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 148-9

Further reading

  • Williams, Herbert William (1917) “kapiti”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 113
  • “kapiti” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
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