Etymology

Pakeha Maori

Today it means: Someone of European descent who has adopted a Maori way of life. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Māori pākehā Māori
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The story

  1. Māori · borrowed frompākehā Māori
  2. English todayPakeha Maori

Borrowed from Māori pākehā Māori, itself made of pākehā (“a foreigner, a European”) and Māori.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. Someone of European descent who has adopted a Maori way of life.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.