nuku

See also: ŋuku

Äiwoo

Etymology

From Proto-Reefs-Santa Cruz *na qqe, from Proto-Oceanic *na qaqe, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qaqay, from Proto-Austronesian *qaqay.

Noun

nuku (third person minimal nyike) (inalienable)

1. (anatomy) leg, foot

   Sooku! Nuku iveto ngâ teväivä.

   Ouch! My leg bumped into the rocks.

   Nyike isiwono, lâto ikigiââ mana go kingângo.

   I grasped his/her legs and was very happy at how sturdy they were.

References

• Næss, Åshild (2017), “nuku”, in A short dictionary of Äiwoo (Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia; A-PL 35)‎^[1], Canberra, ACT: Asia-Pacific Linguistics, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, page 89
• Ross, Malcolm; Næss, Åshild (December 2007), “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics‎^[2], volume 46, number 2, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, →DOI, pages 456–98
• Lackey, William James; Boerger, Brenda H. (December 2021), “Reexamining the Phonological History of Oceanic's Temotu subgroup”, in Oceanic Linguistics‎^[3], volume 60, number 2, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →JSTOR, pages 367–411

Chuukese

Verb

nuku

1. (transitive) to believe

Estonian

Noun

nuku

1. genitive singular of nukk

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central Pacific *nuku, from Proto-Oceanic *nuku (“sandy ground, sandbank”).

Noun

nuku

1. sand (finely ground rock)

   Synonym: lase (Colo East)

   Au tekivu e na nuku.

   I'm standing on the sand.

2. (by extension) powder (fine particles of any dry substance)

   Na nuku ni dakai e yaga sara.

   The gunpowder is very useful.

Usage notes

The extended meaning of “powder” arose as there was no traditional Fijian word for powder, so nuku was adopted for this purpose, especially for gunpowder.

Derived terms

• matasawa nukunuku, matasawa veinukunuku (“sandy shore, boat-landing”)
• nuku balavu (“long beach”)
• nuku loa (“black sand”)
• nuku ni dakai (“gunpowder”)
• nukurama (“clear sand shining through water”)
• nukuvula (“white sand”)
• veinukunuku (“sandy (area)”)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “nuku”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[4], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 184

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnukuˣ/, [ˈnuku(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -uku
• Syllabification^(key): nu‧ku
• Hyphenation^(key): nu‧ku

Verb

nuku

1. inflection of nukkua:
   1. present active indicative connegative
   2. second-person singular present imperative
   3. second-person singular present active imperative connegative

Anagrams

• Nuuk, kuun

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnu.ku/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *ŋutu, from Proto-Austronesian *ŋusuq. Compare Tongan ngutu, Tagalog nguso, Fijian gusu.

Noun

nuku

1. snout, beak, mouth.

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

nuku

1. to scold, to rave, to rant, to grumble.
2. to nag.

References

• nuku in Combined Hawaiian Dictionary, at trussel2.com.

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈnuku]
• Hyphenation: nu‧ku

Pronoun

nuku

1. (slang) nothing

   Synonyms: nincs, semmi

Japanese

Romanization

nuku

1. Rōmaji transcription of ぬく

Māori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *nuku (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

For sense of land, compare with Samoan nuʻu and Tongan nuku.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnuku/ [ˈnʉkʉ]

Verb

nuku (passive nukuhia or nukutia)(transitive)

1. to move, to shift
2. to extend
3. (printing, typography) to indent

Noun

nuku

1. distance, extent
2. expanse
3. (figuratively) land, ground
4. (printing, typography) indent

Derived terms

• nukunuku
• Papatūānuku

References

• Williams, Herbert William (1917), “nuku”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 262
• John C. Moorfield (2011), “nuku”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Rayón Zoque

Noun

nuku

1. leaf-cutter ant

References

• Harrison, Roy; B. de Harrison, Margaret; López Juárez, Francisco; Ordoñes, Cosme (1984), Vocabulario zoque de Rayón (Serie de diccionarios y vocabularios indígenas Mariano Silva y Aceves; 28)‎^[5] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 23

Tokelauan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *nuku. Cognates include Māori nuku and Samoan nuʻu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈnu.ku]
• Hyphenation: nu‧ku

Noun

nuku

1. village, town
   • 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau [Constitution of Tokelau]‎^[6], page 1:

     Ko te fakavae tenei e matea i nā nuku ma kafai ona tagata e faifaimea fakatahi, ma nonofo fakatahi i te filemu ma te fiafia.

     This foundation is recognised in the villages and if its people repeatedly do things together, and [if] they live together in peace and happiness.

   • 2012, “Tokelau mō te Atua [Tokelau for the God]”:

     Te Atua o nuku, te Atua o Tokelau.

     The God of villages, the God of Tokelau.

2. country, place
3. homeland
4. villagers

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[7], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 253