kiwi

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noun pl. kiwis

  1. any of an order (Apterygiformes) of tailless New Zealand birds, with undeveloped wings, hairlike feathers, and a long, slender bill: it feeds chiefly on insects and worms
  2. the brown, hairy, egg-sized fruit, with a sweet, edible, green pulp, of a vine (Actinidia chinensis) of a family (Actinidiaceae, order Theales) of dicotyledonous tropical trees, shrubs, and vines
  3. Informal a New Zealander

Origin: Maori: echoic of its cry

See kiwi in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. ki·wis
  1. Any of several flightless birds of the genus Apteryx native to New Zealand, having vestigial wings and a long slender bill. Also called apteryx.
  2. Informal A New Zealander.
  3. A kiwifruit.

Origin:

Origin: Maori

Origin: , imitative of the call of male kiwis

Origin: . Sense 3, short for kiwifruit

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