Etymology

tangi

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Today it means: A Maori dirge, or song for the dead. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Māori tangi ← Proto-Polynesian *taŋi ← Proto-Oceanic *taŋis
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The story

  1. Proto-Austronesian*Caŋis
  2. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*taŋis
  3. Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*taŋis
  4. Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*taŋis
  5. Proto-Oceanic*taŋis
  6. Proto-Polynesian*taŋi
  7. Māoritangi
  8. English todaytangi

Borrowed from Māori tangi (“lament, mourning, funeral ceremony”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A Maori dirge, or song for the dead.
  • from 19th c. Funeral rites; a funeral ceremony, a tangihanga.
  • from 19th c. Crying, wailing, especially when seeing someone after a long absence.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.