Otaheite

English

Etymology

Recorded by Samuel Wallis on encountering the island in 1767; but Johann Forster and Georg Forster on Captain Cook's second voyage to the island in 1773 were accomplished comparative linguists and realized the O was an article in the Tahitian language and not properly part of the name. (Reference: Nicholas Thomas, Discoveries: The Voyages of Captain Cook, Penguin, 2003, ISBN 0-713-9957-2, page 187.)

Proper noun

Otaheite

  1. (obsolete) Tahiti.

Derived terms
  • Otaheite apple
  • Otaheite cane
  • Otaheite gooseberry
  • Otaheite orange
  • Otaheite plum
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