palagi
Palagi is a term used in Samoan and in some other Polynesian language communities to refer to Westerners or foreigners, especially people of European or light-skinned descent. In everyday speech it can denote outsiders such as tourists, expatriates, or colonial-era officials, as well as non-Polynesian visitors who are not part of the local community.
The etymology of palagi is not definitively settled. It is commonly explained as deriving from a word
Connotations of palagi vary by context, speaker, and tone. It can be a neutral descriptive label, a
Across Polynesian languages, similar terms with related meanings exist, reflecting long-standing contact with Western visitors. Today