Definition of "matai" [matai]

• A Samoan chief. (noun)
• A coniferous tree, Prumnopitys taxifolia, endemic to New Zealand. (noun)

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• "Tupua Tamasese Efi said the chiefs and traditional orators - "matai" - of his village had stripped him of the ancient kingly title of "Tui Atua", and banished him along with his extended family."
• "Toleafoa is a Samoan matai chiefly title bestowed upon his eminence by the local authorities, presumably for helping them build a stadium without sinking them into a huge pile of debt a la South Africa 2010."
• "The uniform canopy is dominated by broadleaf species, mainly kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa) and tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa), with some emergent podocarps (e.g., rimu and matai)."