Meanings
kai1
- AustraliaNew ZealandinformaluncountableFood.First known use 19th c.
Got to go now and get some kai.
2003, Carmen, “Is there really a censor in NZ?!”, in nz.general (Usenet)2 more examples
Actually, I'm not sure I like these new hangis using the foil, it tends to stop the juices getting through to the stones and I reckon the hangi kai is drier to the palate.
1995, Graeme Williams, The soc.culture.new-zealand FAQWhen the sausage man handed the kai over, Kerry passed two wieners to a pair of skinny white kids who had been watching the queue the whole time.
2018, Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip, University of Queensland Press, published 2023, page 118
Kai2
- A unisex given name from the Germanic languages, of modern usage.
- rareA female given name of modern usage.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
kai · noun
- Māorikai
- Englishkai
Borrowed from Māori kai. Doublet of makan (via Malay) in Malaysian and Singaporean English varieties.
More words from Māori
Full word history & related roots →Kai · proper noun
Taken into regular use in the 1990s, with earlier popularity peaks in Scandinavia and Germany. The medieval Danish Kaj is possibly of Roman origin, Latinized as Caius, like the rare medieval English male given name Kay. The German Kai may also derive from a West Frisian pet form of Gerard, Cornelius, Nicholas, or Kampe "warrior". In the U.S. Kai has also been explained as Hawaiian kai (“sea”).
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with kai
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
kai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kai
“kai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kai. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kai,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kai.
Source: kai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.