English

Noun

iwi ‎(plural iwis or iwi)

1. (New Zealand) A Maori tribe.
   • 1996, Diane Bell, Renate Klein, Radically speaking: feminism reclaimed (page 505)

     Through her, the women of my iwi are also beautiful, strong and powerful.

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian, from Proto-Oceanic *suʀi/ruʀi ‎(“thorn, splinter, fish bone”), from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi ‎(“thorn”).

Noun

iwi

1. bone

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian, from Proto-Oceanic *suʀi/ruʀi ‎(“thorn, splinter, fish bone”), from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi ‎(“thorn”).

Noun

iwi

1. bone
2. tribe (different areas are associated with different Maori tribes; for example, people from around Rotorua probably belong to the Te Arawa tribe or the Ngati Pikiao tribe)