waitoreke

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Maori. The etymology is disputed. The first syllable is probably from Proto-Eastern Polynesian *wai (“water”), from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *wai, from Proto-Polynesian *wai, from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ. Maori toreke (“be left behind, forsaken”) can be found in dictionaries.

Noun

waitoreke (plural waitoreke)

  1. A cryptid of New Zealand, said variously to be a mammal resembling an otter, platypus or beaver, and to live in rivers.
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