Land of the Long White Cloud

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Loose calque of Maori Aotearoa, from ao (“cloud, daytime, world”), tea (“white”), and roa (“long, tall”). Allegedly the first English-language mention was in the February, 1916, New Zealand School Journal (King, 2004). Probably a reference to the appearance of mountainous land when seen on the horizon from a canoe after an ocean voyage. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun[edit]

the Land of the Long White Cloud

  1. (poetic) New Zealand.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Land_of_the_Long_White_Cloud&oldid=78010885"