kahawai en · NOUN
Etymology
Borrowed from Māori kahawai.
Meanings
-
(New-Zealand) An edible marine fish, Arripis trutta, found around the southeastern coast of Australia and New Zealand, having a dark bluish-green body with indistinct rows of spots forming narrow irregular bands on the upper sides.
Māori oratory of those years began to employ proverbs about […] the propensity of the kahawai for devouring the mullet.
2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 168:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| kahawais | Number=Plur | lexicographic |