Land of the Long White Cloud

proper noun

New Zealand.

OriginMāori Aotearoa →
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Meanings

proper nounthe Land of the Long White Cloud
  1. poeticNew Zealand.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
new zealand

Origin

  1. MāoriAotearoa
  2. EnglishLand 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.

More words from Māori

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Land of the Long White Cloud. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Land%20of%20the%20Long%20White%20Cloud

MLA

“Land of the Long White Cloud.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Land%20of%20the%20Long%20White%20Cloud. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Land of the Long White Cloud,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Land%20of%20the%20Long%20White%20Cloud.

Source: Land of the Long White Cloud on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.