tiki
tiki Lexical Profile
tiki Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to or characteristic of a mid-20th-century American pop-culture style inspired by romanticized Polynesian motifs, featuring tropical cocktails, bamboo decor, and carved wooden figures.
"They hosted a summer party on the patio complete with tiki torches and tropical fruit punch."
• noun
A large wood or stone carving of a humanoid figure in Polynesian cultures, often representing an ancestor, deity, or the first human in Polynesian mythology.
"The museum's Pacific collection features a finely carved wooden tiki from nineteenth-century New Zealand."
New Zealand A small, stylized ornamental pendant carved from greenstone (nephrite jade) or bone in the shape of an embryonic or humanoid figure, traditionally worn around the neck by Māori people.
"She wore a traditional greenstone tiki that had been passed down through her family for generations."
• Rhymes for tiki
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-18th century from Māori tiki, referring to the first human in Polynesian mythology and to a carved wooden or greenstone human figure.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.