Word.ws English Dictionary

matai

matai noun: a Samoan chief.

Noun (1)

matai (plural matais or matai)

  1. A Samoan chief.

Noun (2)

matai (plural matais or matai)

  1. A coniferous tree, Prumnopitys taxifolia, endemic to New Zealand.
    • Constructed from the native timbers rimu, kauri, or matai, the interior has been refurbished in sympathy with the era of the home. The five bedrooms are individually designed, all with private balconies or verandahs.2008, “The Peppertree”, in Friars Guide to New Zealand Accommodation for the Discerning Traveller 2009, Auckland: Hodder Moa, page 150

Forms of matai

pluralmatais
pluralmatai

Origin of matai

Borrowed from Samoan matai.

Borrowed from Māori mataī.

Words formed from matai

Questions about matai

What does matai mean?
Matai means a Samoan chief.
What part of speech is matai?
Matai is a noun.
What is the plural of matai?
The plural of matai is matais.

Words near matai in the dictionary

  1. Matagorda
  2. Matagorda County
  3. matagory
  4. matagouri
  5. Matahimik
  6. matai
  7. matai beer
  8. matairesinol
  9. matais
  10. matajuelo
  11. matajuelo blanco

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: matai (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: “matai.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/matai. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.