rangatira

British  

/ ˌrʌŋɡəˈtɪərə /

noun

1. a Māori chief of either sex

---

Etymology

Origin of rangatira

Māori

Example Sentences

He was a bullet-headed, scowling, bow-legged, broad-shouldered, herculean savage, and all these qualifications combined made him unquestionably "a great rangatira," and, as he had never been defeated, his mana was in full force.

From Old New Zealand A Tale of the Good Old Times; and A History of the War in the North against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845 by Maori, A Pakeha

It was a whare noa, a house to which, from its general and temporary uses, the tapu was not supposed to attach, I mean, of course, the ordinary personal tapu or tapu rangatira.

From Old New Zealand A Tale of the Good Old Times; and A History of the War in the North against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845 by Maori, A Pakeha

Marsden settled his missionaries at Rangihu, where for twelve axes he bought two hundred acres of land from a young rangatira named Turi.

From The Long White Cloud by Reeves, William Pember

He belongs to the caste styled tana, or chieftains, a degree above that of rangatira, or simple gentlemen-warriors.

From Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2) or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand by Hay, William Delisle

This happened many years before I came to the country, and when my rangatira was one of the most famous fighting men in his tribe.

From Old New Zealand A Tale of the Good Old Times; and A History of the War in the North against the Chief Heke, in the Year 1845 by Maori, A Pakeha