Land of the Long White Cloud en · PROPN
Etymology
Loose calque of Māori Aotearoa, from ao (“cloud, daytime, world”), tea (“white”), and roa (“long, tall”). Allegedly the first English-language mention was in the February, 1916, New Zealand School Journal (King, 2004). Probably a reference to the appearance of mountainous land when seen on the horizon from a canoe after an ocean voyage.
Meanings
- (poetic) New Zealand.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| the Land of the Long White Cloud | canonical | lexicographic |