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definitions

marae

noun

NZ a traditional Māori tribal meeting place, originally one in the open air, now frequently a purpose-built building
(in Polynesia) an open-air place of worship

Word Origin for marae

Māori
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

Examples from the Web for marae

Historical Examples of marae

  • I recognised at once the old priest of the marae, but how changed since I last saw him!

    The Island Home

    Richard Archer

  • The people sat there on the marae, silently watching the burning of the dead.

  • They selected a body, and dragged it off to the cooking-place at the rear of the marae.

  • Bent found a large number of Maoris, about three hundred, assembled on the marae, the village parade ground.

  • At length a Maori unfastened the door of the whar, and, taking Bent by the hand, led him out on to the marae.