weka

[ wey-kuh, wee- ]

noun
  1. any of several large, flightless New Zealand rails of the genus Gallirallus.

Origin of weka

1
Borrowed into English from Maori around 1835–45

Words Nearby weka

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use weka in a sentence

  • Soon there will be a rustle, then a rush, and another furious weka will attack the decoy.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • He now had a collection of eggs of all birds which nest on the island, with the exception of the weka and the tern.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • I looked round, and there was a weka bent on thoroughly investigating the intruder into its domain.

  • Brisk, too, blundered after them, but I had no fear of his destroying the charm of the day by taking even a weka's life.

    Station Amusements | Lady Barker
  • During the day these blankets were always hung outside on a tree, out of the reach of the most investigating weka.

    Station Amusements | Lady Barker

British Dictionary definitions for weka

weka

/ (ˈweɪkə, ˈwiːkə) /


noun
  1. any flightless New Zealand rail of the genus Gallirallus, having a mottled brown plumage and rudimentary wings: Also: Māori hen, wood hen

Origin of weka

1
C19: from Māori, of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012