Motu

¹ British  

/ ˈməʊtuː /

noun

1. a member of an aboriginal people of S Papua

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

3. Also called: Hiri Motu.   Police Motu.  a pidgin version of this language, widely used in Papua-New Guinea Compare Neo-Melanesian

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motu ² British  

/ məʊˈtuː /

noun

1. derogatory a fat man or boy

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Etymology

Origin of motu

C21: Hindi

Example Sentences

Motu, vying to become New Zealand's first unified world champion, did not alter her gameplan but Scotney was wise to it.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025

When, in 1628, William Harvey published “De Motu Cordis,” his theory of the circulation of blood, he relied on vivisections of dogs and sheep.

From New York Times • Aug. 2, 2023

Before the lockdown, New Zealand appeared to be on a trajectory similar to Italy’s, said John McDermott, executive director at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, who has been modeling the virus’s transmission.

From Washington Post • Apr. 28, 2020

Four players — Hodge, Samoa’s Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu’u and the U.S. forward John Quill — have received three week bans for high tackles.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 29, 2019

But while the Motu are mainly fishers and potters, the Koita are mainly tillers of the soil, though they have learned some arts or adopted some customs from their neighbours.

From The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead, Volume I (of 3) The Belief Among the Aborigines of Australia, the Torres Straits Islands, New Guinea and Melanesia by Frazer, James George, Sir