Polynesian
Americanadjective
noun
-
Polynesians
plural
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a member of any of a number of peoples originating from and inhabiting Polynesia, and speaking closely related Austronesian languages.
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the easternmost group of Austronesian languages, including Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, Hawaiian, and the language of Easter Island.
adjective
noun
-
a member of the people that inhabit Polynesia, generally of Caucasoid features with light skin and wavy hair
-
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
Etymology
Origin of Polynesian
First recorded in 1805–15; Polynesi(a) + -an
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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His two-star review said the remake feels "so pointless" when the original film was "a fun, funny, poignant coming-of-age yarn with fantastic music and a winning Polynesian spin on the Disney Princess template".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, the French Polynesian government said the woman had transited through without notifying "territorial and national authorities".
From BBC ● May 13, 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
The Seahawks team also boasts several players of Polynesian descent including backup running back George Holani, who was born in New Zealand to Tongan parents but moved to the United States as a young child.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
In the Pacific Ocean, the main wave of extinction began in about 1500 BC, when Polynesian farmers settled the Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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 those days, Sapolu said a dearth of Polynesian players in the NFL led him to study the schedule each year and identify the teams that included Polynesians.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
In the 13th Century Polynesians brought mice and Pacific rats.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023
How did the descendants of Chinese emigrants become transformed into Polynesians?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
