Tonga

//ˈtɒŋ.ə// name, noun

name, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage used for transportation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. India

    "Coming up along the Cart-Road a tonga passed me, and my pony, tired with standing so long, set off at a canter."

  2. 2
    A drug useful in neuralgia, derived from a Fijian plant supposed to be of the aroid genus Epipremnum. uncountable
  3. 3
    the language of the Tongan people of south central Africa (Zambia and Zimbabwe) wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A country and archipelago of Polynesia in Oceania. Official name: Kingdom of Tonga. Capital and largest city: Nuku'alofa.
  2. 2
    A Bantu language, in the Nyasa branch, spoken in Malawi.
  3. 3
    A Bantu language, in the Botatwe branch, spoken in Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    "Enela cleared their way through the throng, speaking in Tonga, a heavy language that freighted the air with ceremony."

  4. 4
    A Bantu language spoken in Mozambique.
  5. 5
    A surname.
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A barangay of Balud, Masbate, Philippines.

Synonyms

All synonyms
batongachitongafriendly islandsgitongakingdom of tongatonga language

Example

More examples

"Volcanic eruptions in Tonga have created a new island."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Tongan Tonga, from Samoan toga (“southern”).

Etymology 2

From Hindi टाँगा (ṭāṅgā).

Etymology 3

From Tonga.

Related phrases

Tonga Trenchkingdom of tonga

More for "tonga"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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