motu

M3O1T1U1

noun

A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand, surrounding an atoll.

OriginProto-Polynesian *motu →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

motu1

nounmotu (plural motus)

plural motus

  1. A reef islet formed by broken coral and sand, surrounding an atoll.

motu2

nounmotu (uncountable)
  1. New ZealanduncountableCountry, nation, particularly New Zealand.

    The peanut-shaped roundabout while unusual, is not the only one in New Zealand, with a few others scattered around the motu.

    2026 May 20, Rawan Saadi, Radio New Zealand

Motu3

proper noun
  1. An Oceanic language of Papua New Guinea.

Origin

motu · noun

  1. Proto-Polynesian*motu
  2. Englishmotu

From a descendant of Proto-Polynesian *motu.

More words from Proto-Polynesian

Full word history & related roots →

motu · noun

  1. Proto-Polynesian*motu
  2. Māorimotu
  3. Englishmotu

From Māori motu “land; country, nation” descendant of Proto-Polynesian *motu as above

More words from Māori, Proto-Polynesian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish motu
  • motulanguage
Russian моту
  • моту (motu)language

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Mutotoum
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“motu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motu. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “motu,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/motu.

Source: motu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.