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Many New Zealanders pronounce the word “tie-ho” – and many might not have known until recent years that they were using a Māori word.

One of the new additions – taihoa, a request for someone to be patient or wait – captures an inventive combination of English and Māori linguistic sensibilities. Not all of the linguistic debuts are in Māori New Zealanders might also attend an after-ball (perhaps unsurprisingly, a party held after a ball), proceed with something flat stick (as quickly as possible), or greet or thank a friend using the single syllable chur (similar to cheers, but in practice a sort of all-purpose positive acknowledgment). “The fact that we have more and more Māori words appearing, which is what the OED changes are reflecting, captures the shifts in national and social identity in New Zealand and who we are as a nation,” said John Macalister, a professor of applied linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington and the dictionary’s consultant on the etymology of Māori. Phrases such as “kia ora e hoa” are frequently used by non-Māori, and are increasingly common in shops or businesses, or to answer phone calls or emails.ĭictionary editors “scoured the archives, novels, newspapers and even Twitter” for examples of each word, the publisher’s statement said, searching for illustrations of their use and development. Te reo Māori (reo, or language, is a new word for the OED too) is experiencing a renaissance in Aotearoa (New Zealand), the result of campaigns by language and political activists since the 1970s. Other new offerings include words that encapsulate Māori concepts and do not have an easy English equivalent, such as whenua – land, in particular a Māori person’s native land – and rāhui, which is defined as a formal or ritualised prohibition against entering an area or undertaking an activity, typically enacted temporarily in order to protect a resource.

Newly added words that New Zealanders might hear or use in daily life include koha – a gift or offering – and kōrero, meaning a conversation or chat (the dictionary does not spell Māori words with macrons, which are commonly used in New Zealand English and signify double vowel sounds).