mai tai

/ˈmaɪ ˈtaɪ/

noun

A cocktail typically containing rum, curacao, and lime.

OriginTahitian maitaʻi →
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Meanings

mai tai1

nounmai tai (plural mai tais)

plural mai tais · alternative Mai Tai

  1. A cocktail typically containing rum, curacao, and lime.

Mai Tai2

nounMai Tai (plural Mai Tais)

plural Mai Tais

  1. Alternative letter-case form of mai tai.

Origin

  1. Tahitianmaitaʻi“good”
  2. Englishmai tai

Borrowed from Tahitian maitaʻi (“good”), supposedly exclaimed by the first person to taste the drink. The spelling with a space may be influenced by folk-etymological association with the unrelated word Thai /Tai.

More words from Tahitian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

mai tai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mai%20tai

MLA

“mai tai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mai%20tai. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mai tai,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mai%20tai.

Source: mai tai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.