māhī

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *masi₁ (“product of fermentation” – compare with Tahitian mahi and Samoan masi “paste/meal of fermented breadfruit”)[1][2][3] from Proto-Oceanic *maqasin (“salt” – compare with Tongan māsima, Samoan māsima and Fijian masima all “salt”) from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(ma-)qasin (compare with Malay masin “salty” and Tagalog asin “salt”).[1][2] Vowel elongation compared to other neighbouring cognates likely to avoid confusion with mahi (“work”), semantic shift due to absence or long failed cultivation of breadfruit in New Zealand's temperate climate.[4]

Verb

māhī

  1. to ferment
    Synonym: moī
  2. to putrefy

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “masi.1”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (1998) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 1: Material Culture, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 158-60
  3. ^ Serra-Mallol, Christophe (2012) Dictionnaire des cultures alimentaires‎[1], →ISBN, pages 112-4
  4. ^ Furey, Louise (2006) Maori gardening: An archaeological perspective, Wellington, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Conservation, →ISBN, page 10

Further reading

  • Williams, Herbert William (1917) “māhī”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 190
  • “māhī” 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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