Pounamu

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of greenstone found in New Zealand, valued for its beauty and significance in Māori culture
2. A precious stone traditionally used by Māori for carving and making tools, symbolizing strength and connection to ancestors
3. Known as jade in English, this stone holds cultural importance in Polynesian traditions and is often crafted into jewelry and art

Etymology: Pounamu is the Māori name for nephrite jade, a green stone that Māori have prized for centuries and that has been worked into tools, ornaments and weapons. In Māori it is a general term covering several greenstones, including the lighter, glassier kōkopu and the darker inanga, and English speakers borrowed the word directly from Māori to name the stone. Because the English term keeps the Māori sense, it refers specifically to the greenstone of New Zealand rather than to jade mined elsewhere in the world. The stone itself carries cultural weight that the word reflects. Pounamu was historically traded across the islands, and pieces were passed down through families as taonga, treasured possessions with their own histories and names. Nephrite is a form of jade, a term that English took from Spanish "piedra de ijada", or "stone of the loin", a name given to jade because it was believed to cure kidney ailments. The New Zealand word and the European word thus name the same mineral from very different starting points.

Synonyms: greenstone, jade, nephrite