*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of koha

Borrowed from Māori koha (“regard, respect; gift, present”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A Māori tradition of reciprocal giving of gifts. · A voluntary donation given for a service that has been provided.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Māori koha (“regard, respect; gift, present”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionkohami
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mi",
        "3": "koha",
        "4": "",
        "5": "regard, respect; gift, present"
      },
      "expansion": "Māori koha (“regard, respect; gift, present”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "nb...",
      "args": {
        "1": "14, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London; and 20, South Frederick Street, Edinburgh."
      },
      "expansion": "[…]"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "koha",
      "koha#Māori"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Māori tradition of reciprocal giving of gifts.",
        "A voluntary donation given for a service that has been provided."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand",
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "broadly"
      ],
      "recordId": "7de9cdfa81b0621d66e96ccc9df50e7027d743d36fef1630c2365510b8fcc1e7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a4d9e8978bd7eeddb004649100269d19fef774f2b2a5542573ccd70b749483ba",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4053984
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The koel (Eudynamys), a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia, and the Pacific with a distinctive loud call; specifically, the Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Sinhalese කොහා (kohā, “cuckoo”), probably from Sinhalese කෝ + හඩ (kō + haḍa, “cuckoo”) or ultimately as the abbreviation of the word tells, the imitation of the chirping and trilling sound.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "si",
        "3": "කොහා",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cuckoo"
      },
      "expansion": "Sinhalese කොහා (kohā, “cuckoo”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "si",
        "3": "කෝ + හඩ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cuckoo"
      },
      "expansion": "Sinhalese කෝ + හඩ (kō + haḍa, “cuckoo”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "කොහා",
      "කොහා#Sinhalese"
    ],
    [
      "කෝ + හඩ",
      "කෝ + හඩ#Sinhalese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The koel (Eudynamys), a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia, and the Pacific with a distinctive loud call; specifically, the Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Sri-Lanka"
      ],
      "recordId": "1b8fdcfa39182201d7e895e6b9275d4265a7fd9469bb0ffe3b7f8d50f0f77199",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2bd1ee083a3bb8834fbee6786922a9e771299cc7fd9266ea8a5b6283028a03ee",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4053985
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for koha →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-a29oYQ