tui

American  

[too-ee] / ˈtu i /

noun

1. 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.

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tui British  

/ ˈtuːɪ /

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of tui

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tui

Toni Williams, 52, who lives on the Banks Peninsula, said he has seen a three- or fourfold increase in the number of tui, a native bird, at a feeder near his house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2024

As a result, conservation groups sued the agency, saying it would potentially harm sage grouse, a species whose population is listed as "sensitive," as well as the Owens tui chub, an endangered fish.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2023

The world's first urban ecosanctuary opened in 1999 a mile from the city centre as the tui flies.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2023

The only place in the world that the 5-inch-long, olive-colored tui chub still exists is in a basin in Esmeralda County between Reno and Las Vegas.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2022

So batuum, is made water, bat, water; nasórtaan, I throw away; nasórtuun, is thrown away, to become corruption; of which the perfect is tui, the future, tutze.

From Grammatical Sketch of the Heve Language Shea's Library of American Linguistics. Volume III. by Buckingham Smith