Land of the Long White Cloud

The story

1. Māori · calque ofAotearoa
2. English todayLand of the Long White Cloud

Loose calque of Māori Aotearoa, from ao (“cloud, daytime, world”), tea (“white”), and roa (“long, tall”). Allegedly the first English-language mention was in the February, 1916, New Zealand School Journal (King, 2004). Probably a reference to the appearance of mountainous land when seen on the horizon from a canoe after an ocean voyage.

Words from the same roots