Polynesian

[ pol-uh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

a member of any of a number of peoples originating from and inhabiting Polynesia, and speaking closely related Austronesian languages.
the easternmost group of Austronesian languages, including Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, Hawaiian, and the language of Easter Island.

Polynesian

/ ˌpɒlɪˈniːʒən; -ʒɪən /

a member of the people that inhabit Polynesia, generally of Caucasoid features with light skin and wavy hair
a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, including Māori and Hawaiian and a number of other closely related languages of the S and central Pacific

First recorded in 1805–15; Polynesi(a) + -an

Around midnight, she and her husband Lennie Hayton dropped by the Luau, a faux-Polynesian restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Yet its cranial capacity is far above that of the highest apes, and is assimilated with that of Hottentot and Polynesian skulls.

It seemed to them as if they had left the Polynesian savages and were once more in civilised society.

It is natural that myths dating from an age when Greek gods resembled Polynesian idols should be as rude as Polynesian myths.

In only one or two known cases (as in that of the Polynesian Taaroa) is he in receipt of sacrifice.

Among the Maories and their Polynesian kinsmen the priests are the great depositaries of tradition.

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