tangi

T1A1N1G2I1
New Zealand/ˈtʌŋi/UK/ˈtaŋi/

noun

A Maori dirge, or song for the dead.

RareFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 6

Meanings

nountangi (plural tangis or tangi)

plural tangis

  1. New ZealandA Maori dirge, or song for the dead.First known use 19th c.
  2. New ZealandFuneral rites; a funeral ceremony, a tangihanga.First known use 19th c.

    He goes on to say that the Government, The Maori Sanitary Councils, and the Native Land Court have endeavoured to prevent Maori tangis lasting for more than three or four days […].

    1906, The District Court and Magistrate's Court Reports
    1 more example

    Late in the nineteenth century Māori women began to adopt the Victorian mourning costume of black clothes for tangi, and the practice continued long after Pākehā New Zealanders had dropped the custom.

    2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 243
  3. New ZealandCrying, wailing, especially when seeing someone after a long absence.First known use 19th c.

Origin

  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. Englishtangi

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

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

tangi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tangi

MLA

“tangi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tangi. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tangi,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tangi.

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