Polynesian

American  

[pol-uh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn] / ˌpɒl əˈni ʒən, -ʃən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Polynesia, its inhabitants, or their languages.

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noun

• Polynesians
  plural

1. a member of any of a number of peoples originating from and inhabiting Polynesia, and speaking closely related Austronesian languages.

2. the easternmost group of Austronesian languages, including Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, Hawaiian, and the language of Easter Island.

Polynesian British  

/ ˌpɒlɪˈniːʒən, -ʒɪən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Polynesia, its people, or any of their languages

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noun

1. a member of the people that inhabit Polynesia, generally of Caucasoid features with light skin and wavy hair

2. a branch of the Malayo-Polynesian family of languages, including Māori and Hawaiian and a number of other closely related languages of the S and central Pacific

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Polynesians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Polynesian

First recorded in 1805–15; Polynesi(a) + -an

Compare meaning

How does polynesian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Polynesian vs. Hawaiian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Polynesian Polynesians

“I think you could feel it already tonight, with our culture and with what we have represented. But also not only our Polynesian culture ... it’s also a shared culture around the world.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Meanwhile, the French Polynesian government said the woman had transited through without notifying "territorial and national authorities".

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

One species has been successfully reintroduced to its Polynesian island home – the first invertebrate ever to be downlisted from extinct in the wild to critically endangered.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

Scientists have since established that the degradation of the island was in fact gradual, taking centuries, caused largely by drought, volcanic eruptions and the arrival of the Polynesian rat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Those developments were precluded in Polynesia, because no Polynesian island except New Zealand had significant metal deposits.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Many of these changes occurred either before Polynesians arrived in Hawaiʻi or after traditional Indigenous land management practices were disrupted.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 14, 2026

Particularly marvelous are the voyages of the Polynesians who crossed the immense Pacific a thousand years ago in double-hulled canoes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

In the 13th Century Polynesians brought mice and Pacific rats.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023

I could see how Emil didn’t realize I was Tongan because there’s not a lot of Polynesians in the South.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2023

When my music shifts to the Moana song, I talk about how the Polynesians followed maps in the stars.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein