māmā

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mama"

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *maqamaqa (compare with Maori māmā, Rarotongan māmā, Tahitian māmā, Tongan maʻamaʻa and Samoan māmā)[1] from Proto-Oceanic *maʀaqan from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-ʀaqan suffixed from *ʀaqan (compare with Cebuano gaán, Tagalog gaan)[2][3]

Noun

māmā

  1. lightness, state of little weight
  2. ease, state of low effort
  3. nimbleness, swiftness

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “māmā”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, revised & enlarged edition, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN, page 245
  2. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “maqa-maqa.a”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  3. ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 2: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, page 221

Japanese

Romanization

māmā

  1. Rōmaji transcription of まあまあ

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *maqamaqa (compare with Rarotongan māmā, Tahitian māmā, Tongan maʻamaʻa and Samoan māmā) from Proto-Oceanic *maʀaqan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-ʀaqan suffixed from *ʀaqan (compare with Cebuano gaán, Tagalog gaan)[1][2]

Adjective

māmā

  1. light, of little weight
  2. nimble, of low effort
  3. easy, simple, not difficult
  4. cheap, affordable (of price)

References

  1. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “maqa-maqa.a”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  2. ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 2: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, page 221

Further reading

  • Williams, Herbert William (1917) “māmā”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 188
  • māmā” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Samoan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *maqamaqa from Proto-Oceanic *maʀaqan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-ʀaqan suffixed from *ʀaqan (compare with Cebuano gaán, Tagalog gaan)[1][2] Sense of lung from its spongy alveoli – compare with Hawaiian akemāmā.[3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /maːˈmaː/

Adjective

māmā

  1. light, of little weight

Noun

māmā

  1. (anatomy) lung

References

  1. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “maqa-maqa.a”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  2. ^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 2: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, page 221
  3. ^ ibid., volume 5: People, body and mind (2016). pp. 183-4. →ISBN