marae

Borrowed from Maori marae and Tahitian marae, from Proto-Oceanic *malaqe.

• IPA^(key): /məˈɹaɪ/
• Rhymes: -aɪ

marae (plural maraes)

1. (archaic) A Polynesian sacred altar or enclosure. [from 18th c.]
   • 2004, David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →ISBN:

     The path ended down by the sea at a crumbling ‘ingot’ of black coral, twenty yards in length & in height two men. ‘A marae, this is called,’ Mr Wagstaff informed me. ‘All over the South Seas you see ’em, I’m told.’

2. (chiefly New Zealand) The courtyard of a Maori wharenui or meeting-house, seen as a cultural and spiritual focal point; (by extension) the buildings and people around it; a spiritual or cultural centre. [from 19th c.]

• marai, morai

• Ramea, Meara, arame, maare, Amare

From Proto-Oceanic *malaqe (“cleared space”). Cognate with Rapa Nui marae, Tahitian marae, Samoan malae, Tongan malaʻe.

• IPA^(key): /maˈɾae/

marae

1. The courtyard of a wharenui or meeting-house and the buildings around it.

• → English: marae

• tahua

From Proto-Oceanic *malaqe (“cleared space”). Cognate with Maori marae, Tahitian marae, Samoan malae, Tongan malaʻe.

marae

1. A paved plaza in front of an ahu for ancestor worship.