Te Pāpaka-a-Māui

Māori

Etymology

te + pāpaka + a + Māui. Literally means "the paddle crab of Māui", perhaps referring to the continent's shape resembling a crab. The name is also related to the two other names for the North Island and South Island of New Zealand, which were related to a folktale about Maui.

Proper noun

Te Pāpaka-a-Māui (neologism)

1. Australia (a country consisting of a main island, the island of Tasmania and other smaller islands, located in Oceania; historically, a collection of former colonies of the British Empire)
2. (geology) Australia (a continent consisting of the land on the Australian tectonic plate, i.e. Australia, New Guinea and intervening islands)

Synonyms

• Ahitereiria

References

• “Te Pāpaka-a-Māui” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.