tohunga

T1O1H4U1N1G2A1

noun

A Māori chosen to be a specialist in a specific skilled field; especially, a priest.

OriginMāori tohunga →
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Meanings

nountohunga (plural tohungas)

plural tohungas

  1. New ZealandA Māori chosen to be a specialist in a specific skilled field; especially, a priest.

    Those who became tohunga did so not simply voluntarily, but because they displayed aptitudes at an early age which indicated to their elders that they had been chosen by deities to perform particular functions […].

    2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 68

Origin

  1. Māoritohunga“skilled person, chosen expert, priest, healer”
  2. Englishtohunga

From Māori tohunga (“skilled person, chosen expert, priest, healer”).

More words from Māori

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

hangoutAughtonTonghua
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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