Haka
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A group dance of New Zealand's Māori people featuring rhythmic chanting, vigorous facial and arm movements, and foot stamping. Traditionally a war dance, today it is also performed to welcome guests, as a mark of respect at occasions such as commemorations and funerals, as a challenge to opposing teams at sports events, and for artistic purposes.
"After each of my retinue were presented to the chief, partaking of the honour of the ougi, or salutation, the hákà, or dance of welcome, was performed; this was commenced by our entertainers, who placed themselves in an extended line, in ranks four deep. This dance, to a stranger witnessing it for the first time, is calculated to excite the most alarming fears; […]"
- 1 To perform the haka. intransitive
"[T]hey hoisted him up to the ridge pole and lighted the fire; they began to haka, when they were tired of that they sang songs, […]"
Example
More examples"After each of my retinue were presented to the chief, partaking of the honour of the ougi, or salutation, the hákà, or dance of welcome, was performed; this was commenced by our entertainers, who placed themselves in an extended line, in ranks four deep. This dance, to a stranger witnessing it for the first time, is calculated to excite the most alarming fears; […]"
Etymology
Borrowed from Māori haka, from Proto-Polynesian *saka, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sakaŋ. The word is cognate with Hawaiian haʻa (“dance”), Mangarevan ʻaka (“to perform a traditional dance; a usually warlike dance accompanied by a chant”), Rarotongan ʻaka (“dance”), Samoan saʻa (“dance”), Tokelauan haka (“dance”), Tongan haka (“hand action made while singing”).
Related phrases
More for "haka"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.