wharenui
/ˌfɑːrɛˈnuːi/noun (plural same) NZ
A Maori meeting house: we got dragged into the wharenui for impromptu debates...
- It has been the local people's wishes that they have uninhibited time to deliver in the wharenui.
- A carving of the whale, mounted by its rider, occupies the prime spot above the local wharenui, a permanent reminder of the tribe's beginnings.
- Perhaps two years later, Maori went back to the site and built the big wharenui on top of the site.
Origin
1920s: from Maori, 'large house'.