Etymology

, long white cloud, from + + ; often translated as "the land of the long white cloud". Probably a reference to the appearance of mountainous land when seen on the horizon from a canoe after an ocean voyage. Originally was in reference to the North Island only. The first recorded mention of Aotearoa as a name for New Zealand as a whole was in 1898 in The Long White Cloud Ao-tea-roa by William Pember Reeves.

Proper noun

1. North Island .
2. New Zealand .

Quotations

• 1981: Aotearoa / rugged individual / glistens like a pearl at the bottom of the world — Split Enz, Six Months in a Leaky Boat

Proper noun

Aotearoa

1. North Island (of New Zealand)
2. New Zealand