A Dictionary of Māori Legal Terms

Use this bilingual dictionary to find Māori terms that describe Western legal concepts and law-related vocabulary. Find referenced examples of these terms in use.

Start searching

Enter Māori or English words into the search box above. If there’s a match in the dictionary, you’ll get a results page.

Searching for a Māori term will take you straight to the dictionary entry for that word. If you search in English, select the link to the entry that best matches your query.

Most entries contain:

  • a headword—a top result in Māori
  • the gloss—the English equivalent of the headword
  • an example in Māori of how the term has been used
  • links to source information
  • related dictionary entries.

About the dictionary

Find out more about using the dictionary and understanding your search results.

You can also read about the source material for this dictionary, and get explanations for the abbreviations used to reference sources in each entry.