piupiu

From Maori piupiu.

piupiu (plural piupius)

1. A grass skirt with long fringes worn by the Maori for traditional performances.

Reduplication of piu “to swing”

piupiu (passive piupiua)

1. to swing or sway to-and-fro, to oscillate

piupiu

1. A grass skirt with long strands or fringes that sway and produce sound while the wearer dances.

Reduplication of piu used in many tropical islands for the Pritchardia pacifica from Proto-Central Pacific *viu from Proto-Polynesian *piu “ibid.” from Proto-Oceanic *piʀuq “any Licuala palm” from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *biʀuʔ “Licuala rumphii”;^[1][2] reduplication indicates similarity of fronds or "piu-ish" with absence of the original Pritchardia in temperate New Zealand.^[1]

piupiu

1. several types of fern with palm-like fronds:
   1. Lomaria discolor
   2. Pakau pennigera
   3. Parablechnum procerum

      Synonym: kiokio

   4. Parablechnum novae-zelandiae

      Synonym: kiokio

• Williams, Herbert William (1917) “piupiu”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 331
• “piupiu” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.