What does Tonga mean?

Definitions for Tonga
ˈtɒŋ gəton·ga

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

Princeton's WordNet

  1. Tonga, Kingdom of Tonga, Friendly Islandsnoun

    a monarchy on a Polynesian archipelago in the South Pacific; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1970

  2. Tonganoun

    the language of the Tongan people of south central Africa (Zambia and Rhodesia)

Wiktionary

  1. Tonganoun

    A country in Oceania. Official name: Kingdom of Tonga.

  2. tonganoun

    A light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage used for transportation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

  3. tonganoun

    A drug useful in neuralgia, derived from a Fijian plant supposed to be of the aroid genus Epipremnum.

  4. Etymology: From टाँगा.

Wikipedia

  1. Tonga

    Tonga (, ; Tongan: [ˈtoŋa]), officially the Kingdom of Tonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about 750 km2 (290 sq mi), scattered over 700,000 km2 (270,000 sq mi) in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately 800 km (500 mi) north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about 1,800 km (1,100 mi) from New Zealand's North Island. First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing across the South Pacific, and this period of Tongan expansionism and colonization is known as the Tuʻi Tonga Empire. From the rule of the first Tongan king, ʻAhoʻeitu, Tonga grew into a regional power. It was a thalassocracy that conquered and controlled unprecedented swathes of the Pacific, from parts of the Solomon Islands and the whole of New Caledonia and Fiji in the west to Samoa and Niue and even as far as parts of modern-day French Polynesia in the east. Tuʻi Tonga became renowned for its economic, ethnic, and cultural influence over the Pacific, which remained strong even after the Samoan revolution of the 13th century and Europeans' discovery of the islands in 1616.From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had British protected-state status. The United Kingdom looked after Tonga's foreign affairs under a Treaty of Friendship, but Tonga never relinquished its sovereignty to any foreign power. In 2010, Tonga took a decisive step away from its traditional absolute monarchy and became a fully-functioning constitutional monarchy, after legislative reforms paved the way for its first partial representative elections.

ChatGPT

  1. tonga

    Tonga is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising of 169 islands. It is known for being the only remaining monarchy in the Pacific and is famous for its sandy beaches, coral reefs, and tropical climate. The term "Tonga" can also refer to the inhabitants, language, or culture associated with this region.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Tonganoun

    a drug useful in neuralgia, derived from a Fijian plant supposed to be of the aroid genus Epipremnum

Wikidata

  1. Tonga

    Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a sovereign state and an archipelago comprising 176 islands scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of the southern Pacific Ocean. Fifty-two of these islands are inhabited. Lengthwise, the Kingdom stretches over a distance of about 800 kilometres in a north-south line located about a third of the distance from New Zealand to Hawaii. Tonga also became known as the Friendly Islands because of the friendly reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit there in 1773. He happened to arrive at the time of the ʻinasi festival, the yearly donation of the first fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga and so received an invitation to the festivities. According to the writer William Mariner, the chiefs had wanted to kill Cook during the gathering, but could not agree on a plan. Tonga is the only island nation in the region to have avoided formal colonization. In 2010, it took a decisive step towards becoming a fully functioning constitutional monarchy, after legislative reforms paved the way for its first partial representative elections.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Tonga

    tong′ga, n. a light two-wheeled cart for four, in use in Burma.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Tonga

    An archipelago in Polynesia in the southwest Pacific Ocean, comprising about 150 islands. It is a kingdom whose capital is Nukualofa. It was discovered by the Dutch in 1616, visited by Tasman in 1643, and by Captain Cook in 1773 and 1777. The modern kingdom was established during the reign of King George Tupou I, 1845-93. It became a British protectorate in 1900 and gained independence in 1970. The name Tonga may be of local origin, meaning either island or holy. Its other name, Friendly Islands, was given by Captain Cook from the welcome given him by the natives. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p1219 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p549)

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. TONGA

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Tonga is ranked #38332 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Tonga surname appeared 578 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Tonga.

    74.5% or 431 total occurrences were Asian.
    10.9% or 63 total occurrences were White.
    8.4% or 49 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    5% or 29 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1% or 6 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Tonga?

How to say Tonga in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Tonga in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Tonga in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of Tonga in a Sentence

  1. Carlos Calderon:

    Another deadly threat lies in the wake of Winston - the presence of Zika virus in Tonga could spread easily in a response situation.

  2. Tupou VI:

    It's a huge thing here in Tonga.

  3. Eddie Jones:

    It didn't really bother me who they did and didn't pick because it's coming in waves, if it wasn't the team that played against Tonga, which was monstrously physical and powerful, then it's the team that they've picked at the moment, which is going to be very, very fast.

  4. Pita Taufatofua:

    When you are there in Tonga, everything is lush, it's green, it's blue, it's full of life, when you look at it now, it looks like a 1910 black and white film and everything is covered in ash. It's not the Tonga you remember.

  5. Gary Gold:

    Tonga are a good team, but we want to go out and try and finish on a high, each time we've played these bigger teams we get more confident. It comes with more time together and more games played together – we've improved game on game for that reason.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Tonga#10000#10313#100000

Translations for Tonga

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for Tonga »

Translation

Find a translation for the Tonga 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

"Tonga." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Tonga>.

Discuss these Tonga definitions with the community:

1 Comment
  • Mataihoosi
    Tonga(Friendly Islands) does not mean Island or Holy. It means "South."
    LikeReply3 years ago

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

Image or illustration of

Tonga

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?

»
remove completely from recognition or memory
A abduct
B efface
C render
D elate

Nearby & related entries:

Alternative searches for Tonga: