Rarotongann.adj.
/ˌrɛːrəˈtɒŋɡ(ə)n/, /ˌrarəˈtɒŋɡ(ə)n/, U.S. /ˌrɛrəˈtɔŋɡ(ə)n/, /ˌrɛrəˈtɑŋɡ(ə)n/ A. n.
1. The Polynesian language of Rarotonga, a dialect of Cook Islands Maori.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Austric > [noun] > Austronesian > Polynesian > Polynesian languages
Maori1828
Rarotongan1835
Samoan1846
Mota1865
Niue1885
Tongan1897
Niuean1899
Marquesan1919
Palauan1953
Pascuense1953
te reo1958
Cook Islands Maori1963
te reo Maori1987
1835 C. Pitman in Evangelical Mag. & Missionary Chron. Dec. (1836) 584/2 With some slight variation, the dialect is the same as the Rarotongan.
1851 G. Browne Let. 8 July in A. Buzacott Mission Life Islands of Pacific (1866) xiii. 188 It was resolved to request Miss Buzacott to accept..a copy of the Bible in Rarotongan and English.
1947 Jrnl. Polynesian Soc. 56 215 The manuscript..requires translation into modern Rarotongan.
1994 B. Biggs in D. G. Sutton Origins First New Zealanders iv. 96 New Zealand Maori, Rarotongan and Tahitian are considered to be three sister languages, equally related one to another.
2006 S. Florida Sun-Sentinel (Nexis) 17 Oct. Bobby yelled to the driver in Rarotongan.., and we pulled to a stop in front of a tiny store.
2. A native or inhabitant of Rarotonga.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Pacific islands > [noun]
Otaheitan1769
South Sea Islander1777
Pacific Islander1785
Polynesian1807
Fijian1809
Tahitian1825
Pitcairner1831
Rarotongan1837
Micronesian1847
Tongan1853
Samoan1856
Niuean1863
Solomon Islander1864
Lifuan1873
Cook Islander1888
Gilbertese1902
Nauruan1921
Trobriander1922
Pascuan1937
Palauan1946
Marshallese1948
Trobriand Islander1951
Belauan1974
Tuvaluan1975
1837 J. Williams Narr. Missionary Enterprises iv. 63 The Aitutakians endeavoured to dissuade us from going to Rarotonga, by assuring us that the Rarotongans were a most ferocious people.
1866 A. Buzacott Mission Life Islands of Pacific xiv. 198 It is scarcely credible how strange it was to Mr. Buzacott to preach..in the English language..his mind being prone to think according to the habits and ideas of the Rarotongans.
1905 Man 5 174 The Rarotongans had a traditional knowledge of the New Zealand greenstone.
1947 Jrnl. Polynesian Soc. 56 197 I wish to acknowledge assistance given to me by..other Rarotongans.
1977 Times 2 Dec. 19/2 Rarotongans are almost wholly dependent on inflation-prone imported tinned goods.
2006 Dominion Post (Wellington, N.Z.) (Nexis) 11 July 9 The comedian in every Rarotongan came out with the next song.
B. adj.
Of or relating to Rarotonga, its people, or their language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Austric > [adjective] > Austronesian > of Polynesian languages
Tahitian1822
Rarotongan1836
Niuean1924
Pascuan1940
Palauan1951
Pascuense1960
1836 Evangelical Mag. & Missionary Chron. Dec. 581 Mr. Pitman..still proceeds with the translation of the Old Testament into the Rarotongan Dialect.
1845 Samoan Reporter Mar. 3/1 The Huatine and Rarotongan Missions.
1897 Jrnl. Polynesian Soc. 6 10 The word akono..appears from its use in the Rarotongan scriptures, to be..akin to ‘appointed’.
1910 F. W. Christian Eastern Pacific Lands 193 The history of the Christianizing..and progress of these Rarotongan Maori is the brightest chapter in the history of the South Seas.
1966 J. E. Buse in C. E. Bazell In Memory of J. R. Firth 52 Rarotongan Maori is spoken on the island of Rarotonga in the Southern Cooks.
1994 M. Dorris Paper Trail 122 The Rarotongan salesperson replied to my startled question.
2006 Nelson (N.Z.) Mail (Nexis) 26 July 4 When Renee Hollis first set foot on a remote Rarotongan atoll to teach schoolchildren for a year the locals told her she would ‘never last’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1835