tui

[ too-ee ]

/ ˈtu i /

noun

a black New Zealand honey eater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, having a patch of white feathers on each side of the throat, sometimes tamed as a pet.

Nearby words

tug-of-love, tug-of-war, tugboat, tugela, tugrik, tui, tuileries, tuille, tuinal, tuition, tuitionary

Origin of tui

First recorded in 1825–35, tui is from the Maori word tūī

Also called parson bird.

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

Examples from the Web for tui

He passed also the palace of Tui Tulifau, where, by the lights and sounds, he knew the customary revelry was going on.
A Son Of The Sun|Jack London
Not only was Tui Tulifau every inch a king, but he was every second a king.
A Son Of The Sun|Jack London
Tui Tulifau, with Sepeli at his side and surrounded by his convivial chiefs, sat at the head of the council in the big compound.
A Son Of The Sun|Jack London
We heard the whirr of two wood pigeons, and the twitter of a tui once or twice.
Forty Thousand Miles Over Land and Water|Lady (Ethel Gwendoline [Moffatt]) Vincent

The bell-bird and the tui sing a requiem over them by day, while the morepork and the kiwi wail for them at night.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)|William Delisle Hay

British Dictionary definitions for tui

tui

/ (ˈtuːɪ) /

noun plural tuis

a New Zealand honeyeater, Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae, having a glossy bluish-green plumage with white feathers at the throat: it mimics human speech and the songs of other birds

Word Origin for tui

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