Word.ws English Dictionary

hakas

hakas is the plural of haka.

hakas is the third-person singular simple present indicative of haka.

Meaning of haka

Noun

haka (plural hakas or haka)

  1. 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...

See all 2 meanings of haka

Questions about hakas

What is hakas the plural of?
Hakas is the plural of haka.

Words near hakas in the dictionary

  1. hakapick
  2. hakapik
  3. hakapiks
  4. hakari
  5. hakaris
  6. hakas
  7. hakaw
  8. hakawati
  9. hakawatis
  10. hake
  11. hake's-dame

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hakas (page history and authors); 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.

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