Etymology

huhu

H4U1H4U1

Today it means: A beetle, Prionoplus reticularis, endemic to New Zealand. Full definition →

Māori huhu ← Proto-Polynesian *fufu
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The story

  1. Proto-Polynesian · derived from*fufu“weevil”
  2. Māori · borrowed fromhuhu“larval form of this beetle”
  3. English todayhuhu

Borrowed from Māori huhu (“larval form of this beetle”), from Proto-Polynesian *fufu (“weevil”).

Words from the same roots

Māorihuhu all →

huhu beetle

Proto-Polynesian*fufu all →

huhu beetle

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.