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Nov 12, 2024
This week’s theme
Words borrowed from Māori

This week’s words
aroha
tapu
korero
noa
mana

tapu
A war canoe, traditionally considered tapu

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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

tapu

PRONUNCIATION:
(TAH-poo)

MEANING:
noun: A restriction or prohibition; taboo.
adjective: Sacred, restricted, or forbidden.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Māori. The English word taboo is borrowed from Tongan tapu, part of the broader Polynesian concept of sacred restriction. Earliest documented use: 1822.

USAGE:
“The island has been free of Covid-19 for nearly three months now, with the tapu lifted on 31 May.”
Samuel Lovett; Everything We Have Done Has Been by Our Own Efforts; The Independent (London, UK); Jun 22, 2020.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Patience is also a form of action. -Auguste Rodin, sculptor (12 Nov 1840-1917)

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