Moa

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A large, flightless bird native to New Zealand that is now extinct; any member of a group of prehistoric birds that were notable for their considerable size and inability to fly; a reference to the species that were among the largest birds to have ever lived
2. An extinct genus of massive birds from New Zealand known for their flightlessness and towering stature; a term relating to prehistoric avian species that dominated their environment before human arrival; a descriptive name for birds that lived on the ground and could not fly
3. Refers to several species of enormous, wingless birds formerly found in New Zealand but now extinct; denotes prehistoric birds characterized by their lack of flight and large size; a word used to identify these unique and long-gone creatures of the past

Etymology: Among the Māori of New Zealand, "moa" was the name of a large flightless bird, but across Polynesia the same sound meant something ordinary: the domestic chicken. Polynesian settlers brought chickens with them, and the word carried over when they encountered the giant birds of New Zealand. English took the word over unchanged from Māori, without translation or an English-based coinage. The birds were ostrich-like, belonged to several species, and were hunted to extinction by the Māori.

Synonyms: extinct bird, flightless bird