Nene

//ˈneɪneɪ// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The Hawaiian goose, Branta sandvicensis, which was designated the state bird of Hawaii in 1957.

    "Ohelo Vaccinium reticulatum (and V. peleanum) and kukaenene Coprosma ernodeoides […] are the most important berries in the Nenes’ diet, and it is probably from such juicy fruit that much of their water intake comes."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A river that rises in Northamptonshire, England, and flows through Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lincolnshire to the sea at The Wash.

Synonyms

All synonyms
hawaiian goosehawaiian goosenēnē goosenēnē goose

Example

More examples

"Ohelo Vaccinium reticulatum (and V. peleanum) and kukaenene Coprosma ernodeoides […] are the most important berries in the Nenes’ diet, and it is probably from such juicy fruit that much of their water intake comes."

Etymology

Borrowed from Hawaiian nēnē, which is imitative of the bird’s call.

Related phrases

branta sandvicensishawaiian goose

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.