Kauri
//ˈkaʊɹi// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A conifer of the genus Agathis, found in Australasia and Melanesia, especially Agathis australis. New-Zealand, countable, uncountable
"There is an ancient legend that if the kauris disappear from New Zealand, the Maoris will also disappear."
- 2 Alternative form of cowrie. alt-of, alternative
- 3 white close-grained wood of a tree of the genus Agathis especially Agathis australis wordnet
- 4 A resinous product of the kauri tree, found in the form of yellow or brown lumps in the ground where the trees have grown. It is used for making varnish, and as a substitute for amber. countable, uncountable
- 5 tall timber tree of New Zealand having white straight-grained wood wordnet
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- 6 resin of the kauri trees of New Zealand; found usually as a fossil; also collected for making varnishes and linoleum wordnet
Example
More examples"There is an ancient legend that if the kauris disappear from New Zealand, the Maoris will also disappear."
Etymology
Borrowed from Māori kauri from Proto-Polynesian *kauquli, from *kau (“tree”) + *quli (“black”), originally referring to Samoan ebony ("Diospyros samoensis").
Related phrases
More for "kauri"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.