whakawahine

See also: whakawāhine

Maori

Etymology

From whaka- +‎ wahine (“woman”). Cognate with Samoan fa'afafine.

Noun

whakawahine (irregular plural whakawāhine)

1. a person assigned male at birth who lives and behaves as a female socially; literally "to become a woman"

   Coordinate term: tangata ira tāne

   • 2019 August 31, Alan Weedon, “Fa'afafine, fakaleitī, fakafifine — understanding the Pacific's alternative gender expressions”, in ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)‎^[1] (in English), retrieved 2020-05-31:

     In Samoa, people assigned male at birth who live as women are known as fa'afafine, which literally translates to "in the fashion of a woman". Similar identities to fa'afafine are found in Tonga (fakaleitī or leitī), Fiji (vaka sa lewa lewa), Niue (fakafifine), Kiribati and Tuvalu (pinapinaaine) and the Cook Islands (akava'ine).

Verb

whakawahine

1. to become a woman

References

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