haka
Syllables: ha·ka/ˈhɑːkə/US/ˈhɑkə/
haka noun: a group dance of New Zealand's Māori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
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Noun
haka (plural hakas or haka)
- A group dance of New Zealand's Māori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
- After each of my retinue were presented to the chief, partaking of the honour of the ougi, or salutation, the hákà, or dance of welcome, was performed; this was commenced by our entertainers, who placed themselves in an extended line, in ranks four deep. This dance, to a stranger witnessing it for...1838, J[oel] S[amuel] Polack, chapter III, in New Zealand: Being a Narrative of Travels and Adventures during a Residence in that Country between the Years 1831 and 1837. … In Two Volumes, volume I...
- A "Haka" is the native dance, answering to the corroboree of the Australian aboriginals, and we were anxious to see it. […] Later in the evening, however, the complaisant Herekiekie entertained a small and select party at a "Haka" in his "whare" or house (pronounced wharry). It was exactly what I...1876 January, “A Week among the Maoris of Lake Taupo”, in The Cornhill Magazine, volume XXXIII, number 193, London: Smith, Elder & Co., 15 Waterloo Place, →OCLC, page 65
Verb
haka (third-person singular simple present hakas, present participle hakaing, simple past and past participle hakaed)
- To perform the haka.
- [T]hey hoisted him up to the ridge pole and lighted the fire; they began to haka, when they were tired of that they sang songs, […]1870, Richard Taylor, “Traditions and Legends. (Continued.) [The Story of Tama te Kapua, and His Brother Wakaturia.]”, in Te Ika a Maui; or, New Zealand and Its Inhabitants. Illustrating the Origin...
- [page 213] The haka is one of the Maori's most honourable games that can be performed to entertain strangers; and when such is played it is a sign of a people of chiefs and days of peace. The people played this game to her that Te-kahu-rere-moa might haka and entertain them, that they might see how...1888, John White, “Hotu-nui. (Nga-ti-maru.)”, in The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions. Tai-Nui, volume IV, Wellington: By authority; George Didsbury, government printer...
haka meaning in Hindi, Arabic and Persian
haka in Hindi
- group dance of New Zealand's Māori people
- हाका hākā
haka in Arabic
- group dance of New Zealand's Māori people
- هَاكَا hākā
haka in Persian
- group dance of New Zealand's Māori people
- هاکا hâkâ
Examples of haka in a sentence
- Matawhero might stand up and lead a haka if I'm not careful.1986, Sylvia Ashton-Warner, “Life in a Maori School”, in Teacher (A Touchstone Book), 1st Touchstone edition, New York, N.Y.: Simon &...
- The Maori haka ritual has been made famous by the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby team.2013, Matt J. Rossano, “Mountain Rituals”, in Mortal Rituals: What the Story of the Andes Survivors Tells Us about Human Evolution, New...
- [page 213] The haka is one of the Maori's most honourable games that can be performed to entertain strangers; and when such is played it is a sign of a people of chiefs and days of peace.1888, John White, “Hotu-nui. (Nga-ti-maru.)”, in The Ancient History of the Maori, His Mythology and Traditions. Tai-Nui, volume IV...
- We captured the trenches midst our hakas and cheering.2011, Glyn Harper, editor, Letters from Gallipoli: New Zealand Soldiers Write Home, Auckland: Auckland University Press, →ISBN:
Forms of haka
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | hakas |
| plural | haka |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | hakas |
| present participle | hakaing |
| past participle | hakaed |
| past | hakaed |
Origin of haka
Borrowed from Māori haka, from Proto-Polynesian *saka, from Proto-Oceanic *sagaʀ. The word is cognate with Hawaiian haʻa (“dance”), Mangarevan ʻaka (“to perform a traditional dance; a usually warlike dance accompanied by a chant”), Rarotongan ʻaka (“dance”), Samoan saʻa (“dance”), Tokelauan haka (“dance”), Tongan haka (“hand action made while singing”).
Words formed from haka
Words that rhyme with haka
Questions about haka
- What does haka mean?
- Haka means a group dance of New Zealand's Māori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
- What is haka in Hindi?
- Haka in Hindi is हाका (hākā). See Haka meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use haka in a sentence?
- Matawhero might stand up and lead a haka if I'm not careful.
- What part of speech is haka?
- Haka can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce haka?
- Haka is pronounced /ˈhɑːkə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of haka?
- The plural of haka is hakas.
Words near haka in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: haka (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-haka.wav.
Cite this entry: “haka.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/haka. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.