What does POLYNESIA mean?

Definitions for POLYNESIA
ˌpɒl əˈni ʒə, -ʃəpo·ly·ne·si·a

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word POLYNESIA.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Polynesianoun

    the islands in the eastern part of Oceania

Wiktionary

  1. Polynesianoun

    Part of Oceania including Easter Island, Hawaii, New Zealand, and most of the islands between them.

  2. Etymology: From πολύς + νῆσος; according to Moon Handbooks Tahiti, "the term Polynesia was coined by Charles de Brosses in 1756 and applied to all the Pacific islands. The present restricted use was proposed by Dumont d'Urville during a famous lecture at the Geographical Society in Paris in 1831."

Wikipedia

  1. Polynesia

    Polynesia (UK: , US: ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night. The largest country in Polynesia is New Zealand. The term Polynésie was first used in 1756 by the French writer Charles de Brosses, who originally applied it to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a narrower definition during a lecture at the Geographical Society of Paris. By tradition, the islands located in the southern Pacific have also often been called the South Sea Islands, and their inhabitants have been called South Sea Islanders. The Hawaiian Islands have often been considered to be part of the South Sea Islands because of their relative proximity to the southern Pacific islands, even though they are in fact located in the North Pacific. Another term in use, which avoids this inconsistency, is "the Polynesian Triangle" (from the shape created by the layout of the islands in the Pacific Ocean). This term makes clear that the grouping includes the Hawaiian Islands, which are located at the northern vertex of the referenced "triangle".

ChatGPT

  1. polynesia

    Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people of Polynesia have a shared cultural history, with social, linguistic and cultural traits being identifiable across the region. Major nations within Polynesia include New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, and French Polynesia. The term "Polynesia" comes from the Greek meaning "many islands".

Wikidata

  1. Polynesia

    Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs. Historically, they were experienced sailors and used stars to navigate during the night. The term "Polynesia" was first used in 1756 by French writer Charles de Brosses, and originally applied to all the islands of the Pacific. In 1831, Jules Dumont d'Urville proposed a restriction on its use during a lecture to the Geographical Society of Paris.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Polynesia

    is the collective name of all the islands of the Pacific of coral or volcanic origin. These South Sea islands are scattered, isolated, or more usually in groups over a stretch of ocean 7000 m. from N. to S. and 6000 from E. to W.; with the exception of the two chief members of the New Zealand archipelago they are mostly small, and exhibit wonderful uniformity of climate; the temperature is moderate, and where there are any hills to intercept the moisture-laden trade-winds the rainfall is high; they are extremely rich in flora; characteristic of their vegetation are palms, bread fruit trees, and edible roots like yams and sweet potatoes, forests of tree-ferns, myrtles, and ebony, with endless varieties of beautiful flowering plants; their fauna is wonderfully poor, varieties of rats and bats, a few snakes, frogs, spiders, and centipedes, with the crocodile, being the chief indigenous animals; the three divisions of Polynesia are Micronesia, comprising five small archipelagoes in the NW., N. of the equator, of which the chief are the Mariana and Caroline groups; Melanesia, comprising eleven archipelagoes in the W., S. of the equator, of which the largest are the Solomon, Bismarck, Fiji, New Caledonia, and New Hebrides groups; and Eastern Polynesia, E. of these on both sides of the equator, including New Zealand, Hawaii, and Samoa, ten other archipelagoes, and numerous sporadic islands; the first of these divisions is occupied by a mixed population embracing many distinct elements, the second by the black, low-type Melanesians, the third by the light brown, tall Polynesians; traces of extinct civilisation are found in Easter Island and the Carolines; most of the islands are now in the possession of European powers, and are more or less Christianised; New Zealand is one of the most enterprising and flourishing colonies of Great Britain; everywhere the native races are dying out before the immigration of Europeans.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Polynesia

    The collective name for the islands of the central Pacific Ocean, including the Austral Islands, Cook Islands, Easter Island, HAWAII; NEW ZEALAND; Phoenix Islands, PITCAIRN ISLAND; SAMOA; TONGA; Tuamotu Archipelago, Wake Island, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Polynesians are of the Caucasoid race, but many are of mixed origin. Polynesia is from the Greek poly, many + nesos, island, with reference to the many islands in the group. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p966 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p426)

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. polynesia

    A group of islands: a name generally applied to the islands of the Pacific Ocean collectively, whether in clusters or straggling.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Polynesia

    Greek for “many islands.”

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce POLYNESIA?

How to say POLYNESIA in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of POLYNESIA in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of POLYNESIA in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of POLYNESIA in a Sentence

  1. Fijian Native:

    In Polynesia the perception of 'big is beautiful' does exist, [But] big is beautiful, fat is not. That needs to get through.

  2. Margaret Chan:

    Members of the committee admit that the situation meets the conditions for a public health emergency of international concern, i have accepted this advice. I am now declaring that the recent cluster of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in Latin America following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014 constitutes a public health emergency of international concern.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

POLYNESIA#10000#11206#100000

Translations for POLYNESIA

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for POLYNESIA »

Translation

Find a translation for the POLYNESIA definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"POLYNESIA." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/POLYNESIA>.

Discuss these POLYNESIA definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for POLYNESIA? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Image or illustration of

    POLYNESIA

    Credit »

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    evincing the presence of a deity
    A tenebrous
    B lank
    C splay
    D numinous

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for POLYNESIA: