Etymology

haka

ha·ka
H4A1K5A1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

Māori haka ← Proto-Polynesian *saka ← Proto-Oceanic *sagaʀ
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Oceanic · derived from*sagaʀ
  2. Proto-Polynesian · derived from*saka
  3. Māori · borrowed fromhaka
  4. English todayhaka

Borrowed from Māori haka, from Proto-Polynesian *saka, from Proto-Oceanic *sagaʀ. The word is cognate with Hawaiian haʻa (“dance”), Mangarevan ʻaka (“to perform a traditional dance; a usually warlike dance accompanied by a chant”), Rarotongan ʻaka (“dance”), Samoan saʻa (“dance”), Tokelauan haka (“dance”), Tongan haka (“hand action made while singing”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.