Definition of tupuna in English:
tupuna
nounPlural tupunas ˈtuːpʊnaˈtʊpʊna
NZ A grandparent or ancestor.
he recalls all those tupuna long gone yet still alive in the heart of every true Maori
Example sentencesExamples
- She came here from Auckland, almost as though her tupuna were pulling her strings.
- I want to challenge Maori to challenge ourselves to be all that we can be, to refuse to accept the crime and poverty that infest our lives, and to lift ourselves to the status our tupuna dreamt of for us.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from Maori.