kōiwi

Māori

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Polynesian *koo-iwi. Cognate with Hawaiian ʻōiwi (“physique, self”). Can be analysed as ko +‎ iwi.

Noun

kōiwi

  1. human bone
    • 2025 March 28, “Ponaturi”, in Te Rā, performed by Alien Weaponry:
      Ko ngā kōiwi o tōku matua / Takoto ki raro i te moana / I roto i te whare Manawa-Tāne / Ko te wharenui o ngā Ponaturi e, Ponaturi e / Whakahokia ngā kōiwi o tōku matua / Kei konei ahau e kimikimi utu ana / Whakahokia ngā kōiwi o tōku matua / Whakahokia ngā kōiwi ki tōna whenua
      The bones of my father / Lie at the bottom of the ocean / In the house, Manawa-Tāne / The wharenui of the Sea Demons, Sea Demons / Return the bones of my father / I am here seeking utu / Return the bones of my father / Return the bones to his land
  2. corpse
  3. person, self
  4. descendants

Further reading

  • “kōiwi” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
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