niu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "niu"

Languages (46)

Translingual • English

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Anuta • Arosi • Bariai • Bughotu • Bwanabwana • Catalan • East Futuna • Elfdalian • Fijian • Gedaged • Gela • Gothic • Greenlandic • Hawaiian • Inuktitut • Inupiaq • Kairiru • Kapingamarangi • Kove • Kwaio • Lusi • Manam • Mandarin • Māori • Mirandese • Motu • Mussau-Emira • Niuean • Norwegian Nynorsk • Proto-Norse • Pukapukan • Rapa Nui • Rennellese • Romanian • Rotuman • Sa'a • Samoan • Sardinian • Satawalese • Tahitian • To'abaita • Tobati • Tongan • Tuvaluan

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Niuean.

Symbol

niu

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Niuean.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Niuean terms

English

Noun

niu (plural nius)

1. (New Zealand, historical) A tall pole with yardarms from which hung ropes, circled by worshippers in the Pai Mārire religious movement.

Anuta

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Arosi

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Bariai

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

References

• Steve Gallagher, Peirce Baehr, Bariai Grammar Sketch (2005)

Bughotu

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Bwanabwana

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan niu, from Latin nīdus, from Proto-Italic *nizdos (“nest”), from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈniw]

• Audio (Catalonia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iw

Noun

niu m (plural nius)

1. nest

Derived terms

• niar
• niu d'ocell
• niuada
• niuet

References

• “niu”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “niu”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “niu” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “niu”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

East Futuna

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Elfdalian

Elfdalian cardinal numbers

<  8	9	10  >
Cardinal : niu     Ordinal : niund

Etymology

From Old Norse níu, from Proto-Germanic *newun. Cognate with Swedish nio.

Numeral

niu

1. nine

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Pacific *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit of coco palm)

Gedaged

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Gela

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Gothic

Romanization

niu

1. romanization of 𐌽𐌹𐌿

Greenlandic

Etymology

From Proto-Inuit *niu (“leg, root”), from Proto-Eskimo *ńiʁu (“leg”). Compare niulu (“foot (of object), root (of plant)”). Cognates include Inupiaq niu and Inuktitut ᓂᐅ (nio).

Pronunciation

• (Nuuk) IPA^(key): /niu/, [nɪ.ʊ]

Noun

niu (plural nissut)

1. leg

Declension

Declension of niu

case	singular	plural
absolutive	niu	nissut
ergative	nissup
allative	nissumut	nissunut
ablative	nissumit	nissunit
prolative	nissukkut	nissutigut
locative	nissumi	nissuni
instrumental	nissumik	nissunik
equative	nissutut

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈni̯u/, [ˈnju]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Central Pacific *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ. Cognates include Māori, Samoan, and Tongan niu.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit of coco palm)

Derived terms

• kai niu (“coconut cream”)
• niu kahiki (“date”)
• niu maloʻo (“copra”)
• wai niu (“coconut water”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *liu (“to turn round”).

Verb

niu (passive niua)

1. (stative) spinning, whirling

Related terms

• niniu (“spin”, verb)
• niuniu (“unlucky”)
• pōniu (“rotate”, verb)

References

• Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H. (1986), “niu”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, pages 267–8
• niu in Combined Hawaiian Dictionary, at trussel2.com.

Inuktitut

Noun

niu

1. Latin spelling of ᓂᐅ (nio)

Inupiaq

Etymology

From Proto-Inuit *niu, from Proto-Eskimo *niʀu.

Noun

niu

1. leg

Kairiru

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Kapingamarangi

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Kove

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

References

• Sato, Hiroko (2013) Grammar of Kove: an Austronesian language of the West New Britain province, Papua New Guinea (Ph.D. Thesis), University of Hawaii at Manoa, →HDL

Kwaio

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Lusi

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Manam

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Mandarin

Romanization

niu

1. nonstandard spelling of niū
2. nonstandard spelling of niú
3. nonstandard spelling of niǔ
4. nonstandard spelling of niù

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Māori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Central Pacific *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ. Cognates include Hawaiian, Samoan, and Tongan niu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈniu/ [ˈniʉ]

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Further reading

• John C. Moorfield (2011), “niu”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin nīdus, from Proto-Italic *nizdos (“nest”), from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niˈu/ [niˈu] (Central)
• IPA^(key): /niˈu/ [niˈɨw] (Sendinese)
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: ni‧u

Noun

niu m (plural nius)

1. nest

   Synonym: nial

References

• Ferreira, Amadeu; Ferreira, José Pedro Cardona (2003–2022), “niu”, in Dicionário de Mirandês-Português [Mirandese-Portuguese Dictionary].

Motu

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Mussau-Emira

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit)
2. coconut palm (tree)

References

• Malcolm Ross (2002), “Mussau”, in John Lynch, Malcolm Ross, Terry Crowley, editors, The Oceanic Languages, Curzon Press

Niuean

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut palm

Derived terms

• Niuē

References

• Wolfgang B. Sperlich, editor (1997), Tohi Vagahau Niue—Niue Language Dictionary‎^[3], Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN, pages 241-242

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse níu. Compare Faroese níggju, Icelandic níu, Elfdalian niu, and Swedish nio.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [²niːʊ]

Numeral

niu

1. (dialectal, Voss) alternative form of ni (“nine”)

Proto-Norse

Romanization

niu

1. romanization of ᚾᛁᚢ

Pukapukan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit of coco palm)

Rennellese

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut tree

References

• Samuel H. Elbert (1975), Dictionary of the Language of Rennell and Bellona, Copenhagen: National Museum of Denmark, →ISBN, page 195

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French nu.

Noun

niu m (plural niu)

1. nu (Greek letter)

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	niu	niuul	niu	niui
genitive-dative	niu	niuului	niu	niulor
vocative	niuule		niulor

Rotuman

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Pacific *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ. Cognate with Fijian niu.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit of coco palm)

References

• Churchward, C.M. (1940), “niu”, in Rotuman Grammar and Dictionary‎^[4], Sydney, Australia: Methodist Church of Australasia, →ISBN, page 271

Sa'a

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

Samoan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut (fruit of coco palm)

References

• Milner, G.B. (1993), Samoan Dictionary, Auckland: Polynesian Press, →ISBN, pages 156-157

Sardinian

Etymology

From Latin nidus.

Noun

niu

1. (Campidanese) nest

Satawalese

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

References

• Kevin M. Roddy, A Sketch Grammar of Satawalese, The Language of Satawal Island, Yap State, Micronesia (2007)

Tahitian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. (archaic) coconut

To'abaita

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

References

• Lichtenberk, František (2008), A dictionary of Toqabaqita (Solomon Islands)‎^[5], Canberra: Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, →ISBN, page 203

Tobati

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut

   Aka niu re hecau.

   Big brother climbs a coconut [tree].

Further reading

• Buku Ajar Bahasa Tobati Bagi Pemula [Tobati Language Guide for Beginners] (in Indonesian), Jayapura: Dinas Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Kota Jayapura, 2018

Tongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni.u/

Noun

niu

1. coconut palm
2. coconut

Tuvaluan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *niu, from Proto-Oceanic *niuʀ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.

Noun

niu

1. coconut