moai

/ ˈməʊaɪ /

noun

1. any of the gigantic carved stone figures found on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)

Word History and Origins

Origin of moai¹

from Rapanui (the Polynesian language of Easter Island), literally: statue, figurine

Example Sentences

The museum has two moai statues which were taken from the Chilean territory of Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, in 1868.

From BBC

The online campaign began after an influencer encouraged his followers to "spam" the museum's Instagram posts with "return the moai" comments.

From BBC

The statue, along with a second, smaller moai known as Hava, were given as gifts to Queen Victoria in 1869 by the captain of HMS Topaze, Commodore Richard Powell.

From BBC

Mr Milfort regularly speaks about the moai in his viral videos.

From BBC

"My followers began spamming 'return the moai' on Wikipedia, and then the comments section of the British Museum Instagram was full of people posting 'return the moai'," he said in one recent clip.

From BBC