utu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "utu"

Translingual

Etymology

From English Utu.

Symbol

utu

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Utu.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Utu terms

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Maori utu.

Noun

utu (uncountable)

1. (New Zealand) Compensation for a wrong suffered; reciprocal exchange or payment; (loosely), payback, revenge. [from 19th c.]
   • 2003, Michael King, The Penguin History of Aotearoa New Zealand, Penguin, published 2023, page 68:

     Utu determined that relations among individuals, and between families, communities and tribes, were governed by mutual obligation and an implicit keeping of social accounts […] .

   • 2008, Christina Thompson, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All, Bloomsbury, published 2009, page 129:

     Utu demanded that both favors and grievances be repaid in kind, but it was the grievances, naturally, that caused the most trouble.

   • 2011 September 19, Andrew Alderson, New Zealand Herald:

     The match had been touted as a chance for utu after the 1999 and 2007 All Blacks World Cup defeats.

Buginese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kutu, from Proto-Austronesian *kuCu.

Noun

utu

1. louse (insect)