Polynesia
//ˌpɑːləˈniːʒə// name
name ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A continental region of Oceania, including Easter Island, Hawaii, New Zealand, and most of the islands between them.
Example
More examples"'Polynesia' is a Greek word that means 'many islands'."
Etymology
Borrowed from French Polynésie, coined by Charles de Brosses in 1756, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + νῆσος (nêsos, “island”). According to Moon Handbooks Tahiti, de Brosses first used the term to refer to all Pacific islands. The present restricted use was established by J. S. C. Dumont d'Urville in 1832.
Related phrases
More for "polynesia"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.