papalagi

English

Alternative forms

• papalangi

Etymology

From Samoan papālagi, Tongan papālagi. Compare palagi.

Noun

papalagi (plural papalagis or papalagi)

1. In Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand, a white person; a palagi. [from 19th c.]
   • 2020, Sujit Sivasundaram, Waves Across the South, William Collins, published 2021, page 53:

     Yet those whom the Tongas called papalangi, or men from the sky, introduced into these islands a new language of politics, class and organisation.

Samoan

Etymology

From papa +‎ lagi.

Noun

papalagi

1. foreigner
2. white man

Adjective

papalagi

1. foreign