[mey-koh, mah-] /ˈmeɪ koʊ, ˈmɑ-/

noun, plural makos.
a powerful mackerel shark, Isurus oxyrinchus, of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
noun (pl) -kos
any shark of the genus Isurus, esp I. glaucus of Indo-Pacific and Australian seas: family Isuridae
(NZ) the teeth of the mako worn as a decoration by early Māoris
noun (pl) -kos
Also called wineberry. a small evergreen New Zealand tree, Aristotelia serrata: family Elaeocarpaceae
(NZ) another name for bellbird (sense 2)

“large blue shark,” listed as 1727 in OED, from “The History of Japan,” English translation of Engelbert Kaempfer’s German manuscript; however this is claimed by some to be an error, and some say Kaempfer’s word represents Japanese makkô(-kujira) “sperm whale.” But the description in the text fits neither the shark nor the whale. The word is ultimately from Maori mako “shark, shark’s tooth,” which is of uncertain etymology. If the 1727 citation is an error, the next OED entry is for 1820, from a book on New Zealand languages.


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