tiki

[ tee-kee ]

/ ˈti ki /

noun

(initial capital letter) (in Polynesian mythology) the first man on earth.

(in Polynesian cultures) a carved image, as of a god or ancestor, sometimes worn as a pendant around the neck.

Origin of tiki

1875–80; < Maori and Marquesan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tiki

Elderly women played Triple Double Diamond and Tiki Magic while they chain-smoked.
I Watched a Casino Kill Itself: The Awful Last Nights of Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal|Olivia Nuzzi|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the oldest adult theaters in Los Angeles, the Tiki is open 24 hours a day.
The Tale Behind Fred Willard’s Arrest in an Adult Film Theater|Christine Pelisek|July 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He gave her a small silver box with a silver chain, for the tiki of Bernadette, on the day that he sailed away.
White Shadows in the South Seas|Frederick O'Brien
To the Marquesan these are all tiki, or charms, which have superseded their own.
White Shadows in the South Seas|Frederick O'Brien

Go, my son, and with that gain an entrance into the palace of Tiki, and do not come to this world again to disturb or alarm us.
Curiosities of Superstition|W. H. Davenport Adams
Her mother told her that the waters were full of sharks, and that not even a tiki of Bernadette would save her.
White Shadows in the South Seas|Frederick O'Brien
A bullet, aimed from behind a tree, killed Tiki on the spot; but from whose hand it came could only be conjectured.
A Narrative of a Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand in 1827|Augustus Earle

British Dictionary definitions for tiki

tiki

/ (ˈtiːkɪ) /

noun

an amulet or figurine in the form of a carved representation of an ancestor, worn in some Māori cultures

verb

(intr) NZ to take a scenic tour around an area

Word Origin for tiki

from 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

Word Origin and History for tiki

Tiki

"large wooden image of the creator-ancestor of Maoris and Polynesians," 1777, from Eastern Polynesian tiki "image." Tiki torch is first recorded 1973.

tiki

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of tiki

Examples from the Web for tiki

tiki

noun

verb

Word Origin for tiki

Tiki