Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
A cryptid of New Zealand, said variously to be a mammal resembling an otter, platypus or beaver, and to live in rivers.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Borrowed from Māori. The etymology is disputed. The first syllable is probably from Proto-Eastern Polynesian *wai (“water”), from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *wai, from Proto-Polynesian *wai, from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ. Māori toreke (“be left behind, forsaken”) can be found in dictionaries.
