tupuna

See also: tūpuna

English

Alternative forms

• tipuna

Etymology

Borrowed from Maori tupuna.

Noun

tupuna (plural tupunas or tupuna or tūpuna)

1. (New Zealand) An ancestor, especially a grandparent, in Maori culture.
   • 1998, Janet Hunt, Hone Tuwhare: A Biography, page 139:

     […] tupunas are there, beside us, in the rain, and when the sun comes busting out.

   • 2015 June 1, Chellie Spiller, Rachel Wolfgramm, Indigenous Spiritualities at Work: Transforming the Spirit of Enterprise, IAP, →ISBN, page 253:

     We have carved the journeys of the adventures of our tūpuna, who were true navigators—venturing into the unknown—sailing towards the sun.

   • 2019 July 18, Kieran O'Donoghue, Robyn Munford, New Theories for Social Work Practice: Ethical Practice for Working with Individuals, Families and Communities, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 203:

     The existence of our wairua in this realm allows us to connect with our tūpuna in the spirit world. The spiritual connection to our tūpuna also exists in certain portals of communication with them.

References

• OED 2006

Hawaiian

Noun

tupuna

1. Niʻihau form of kupuna (“grandparent, elder”)

   O tou tupuna tela.

   That is my grandparent.

Maori

Alternative forms

• tipuna

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *tumpu from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ta- + Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *umpu (“grandparent or grandchild”), probably from Proto-Austronesian *apu (“grandparent or grandchild”) (*umpu is one of several PMP roots that are identical, except for the first vowel).

Noun

tupuna (irregular plural tūpuna)

1. A grandparent, or any ancestor more remote than one's parents.

References

• “tupuna” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.