hei-tiki
UK/ˌheɪˈtɪki/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
New Zealand/ˌhæeˈtiki/
hei-tiki noun: an ornamental pendant (typically made of pounamu or greenstone) among the Māori, worn around the neck, representing a human figure traditionally connected with Tiki, the first human in Maori mythology.
Noun
hei-tiki (plural hei-tiki or hei-tikis)
- An ornamental pendant (typically made of pounamu or greenstone) among the Māori, worn around the neck, representing a human figure traditionally connected with Tiki, the first human in Maori mythology.
- The ability to work stone and bone was also prized, for the production of essential tools such as adzes and fishhooks, and for the quality of ornaments such as pendants and hei tiki.2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 74
Forms of hei-tiki
| plural | hei-tiki |
|---|---|
| plural | hei-tikis |
| alternative form | heitiki |
| alternative form | hei tiki |
Origin of hei-tiki
Borrowed from Māori heitiki, from hei (“to tie around the neck; scarf, pendant”) + tiki (“carving of a human figure”).
Questions about hei-tiki
- What does hei-tiki mean?
- Hei-tiki means an ornamental pendant (typically made of pounamu or greenstone) among the Māori, worn around the neck, representing a human figure traditionally connected with Tiki, the first human in Maori mythology.
- What part of speech is hei-tiki?
- Hei-tiki is a noun.
- How do you pronounce hei-tiki?
- Hei-tiki is pronounced /ˌhæeˈtiki/ (New Zealand).
- What is the plural of hei-tiki?
- The plural of hei-tiki is hei-tiki.
Words near hei-tiki in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: hei-tiki (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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Cite this entry: “hei-tiki.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hei-tiki. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.