Editing Kiwi (bird) (section)

== Etymology ==
The [[Māori language|Māori]] word {{lang|mi|kiwi}} is generally accepted to be "of imitative origin" from its [[Bird vocalization|call]].<ref>{{Citation | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Kiwi | title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | edition = 4th | year = 2006 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | contribution = Kiwi | access-date = 14 April 2008 | archive-date = 23 November 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123043732/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kiwi | url-status = live }}</ref> Some linguists derive the word from [[Proto-Polynesian language|Proto-Nuclear Polynesian]] *''kiwi'', which refers to ''Numenius tahitiensis'', the [[bristle-thighed curlew]], a migratory bird that winters in the tropical Pacific islands<ref name="pollex">{{Citation | url = http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kiwi.1/ | title = Polynesian Lexicon Project Online | contribution = kiwi | access-date = 7 January 2011 | archive-date = 24 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724201015/http://pollex.org.nz/entry/kiwi.1/ | url-status = live }}</ref> that kind of resembles with its long decurved bill and brown body, So when the first Polynesian settlers arrived, they may have applied the word kiwi to the newfound bird.<ref name="savethekiwi.org.nz"/> Some linguists like [[Robert Blust]] however propose that ''kiwi'' originated from [[Proto-Oceanic language|Proto-Oceanic]] name for the [[Pacific golden plover]], *''kiwiwi''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://acd.clld.org/cognatesets/30926#3/-18.50/161.98|title=*kiwiwi: shore bird - sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover |last1=Blust |first1=Robert |last2=Trussel |first2=Stephen |date=2010 |website=Austronesian Comparative Dictionary  |publisher=Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology |access-date=11 May 2025}}</ref>

The bird's name is usually spelled with a lower-case ''k''. It normally stays unchanged when [[plural]]ised in English, mirroring its usage in the Māori language itself.<ref>{{cite web|title=Plurals in te reo Māori|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/about_us/what-we-do/our-publications/style-guides/style-manual/maori-language.aspx|publisher=Statistics New Zealand|access-date=17 August 2017|language=en-nz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818045202/http://www.stats.govt.nz/about_us/what-we-do/our-publications/style-guides/style-manual/maori-language.aspx|archive-date=18 August 2017}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2024}}