nikau

British  

/ ˈniːkaʊ /

noun

1. a palm tree of the genus Rhopalostylis, esp R. sapida, native to New Zealand. The leaves were used by the Māoris to build their whares and the top of the stem is sometimes eaten

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Etymology

Origin of nikau

Māori

Example Sentences

The fringes of the Farm bristle with spiky native nikau palms that seem plucked from a Lost in Space episode.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2017

"They made strings of the scarlet nikau berries, and hung them round their necks."

From Piccaninnies by Peacocke, Isabel Maud

They made strings of the scarlet nikau berries and hung them round their necks.

From Piccaninnies by Peacocke, Isabel Maud

I found growing, as I expected, amongst the trees abundance of the wild palm or nikau.

From Austral English A dictionary of Australasian words, phrases and usages with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language, and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia by Morris, Edward Ellis