laukelekele

Tokelauan

Etymology

From lau (“leaf”) +‎ kelekele (“land”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈla.u ˈke.le ˈke.le]
• Hyphenation: la‧u‧ke‧le‧ke‧le

Noun

laukelekele

1. land, area
   • 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau [Constitution of Tokelau]‎^[1], page 1:

     Talu mai nā aho o Maui, ma Tui Tokelau ko te laukelekele, te tai, ma te ea nae fakaolaola ai o matou tagata

     Ever since the days of Maui, and Tui Tokelau, the land, the sea, it was them that stimulated our people

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[2], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 172