Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In New Zealand, Myoporum lætum, a shrub or small tree closely allied to the bastard sandalwood of Hawaii (M. Sandwicense) and the Australian blueberry-tree (M. serratum). It bears small edible drupes and its light, tough white wood is used for making gunstocks. In the South Island the name is generally corrupted to kaio.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An evergreen tree, Myoporum laetum, native to New Zealand.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Maori.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word ngaio.

Examples

  • Ihave about a hundred english murder mysteries from agatha christie to ngaio marsh to ruth rendell to p. d.james, ect … i would trade them in or sell them for a mere pittance so that i might be able to aquire some new titles.

    Introducing BookHints « Reading Copy 2007

  • Richard Boston Reading, Berkshire EUREKA Ngaio Marsh I seem to have known for a long time that ngaio, the given name of the late Novo-Zelanian author of detective novels, was a Maori word, but only recently did I learn that it is the name of a New Zealand shrub or tree, related to the Australian blueberry tree and the Hawaiian bastard sandalwood, the wood of which was used for making gunstocks.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XII No 2 1985

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.