tikanga

T1I1K5A1N1G2A1
New Zealand/ˈtikʌŋʌ/New Zealand/ˈtikʌŋə/UK/ˈtiːkaŋə/

noun

A custom, value or principle, especially of the Maori people.

OriginMāori tikanga →
UncommonFirst used 19th c.Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nountikanga (countable and uncountable, plural tikangas or tikanga)

plural tikangas

  1. New ZealandcountableuncountableA custom, value or principle, especially of the Maori people.First known use 19th c.

    Male primogeniture was still the concept most often ratified by tikanga.

    2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 236

Origin

  1. Māoritikanga
  2. Englishtikanga

Borrowed from Māori tikanga.

More words from Māori

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Taikang
Cite this entry
APA

tikanga. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tikanga

MLA

“tikanga.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tikanga. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tikanga,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tikanga.

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