Ton·ga (t ng g ) also Friend·ly Islands (fr ndl ) A country in the southwest Pacific Ocean east of Fiji comprising about 150 islands, some 36 of which are inhabited. Long inhabited by Polynesians, the islands were sighted by the Dutch in 1616 and visited by the British navigator Capt. James Cook in the late 1700s. It became a British protectorate in 1900 and gained independence as a constitutional monarchy in 1970. Nuku'alofa is the capital and the largest city. Population: 117,000. |   |
tonga [ˈtɒŋgə]
n
a light two-wheeled vehicle used in rural areas of India
[from Hindi tāngā]
Tonga1
n
1. (Social Science / Peoples) pl -gas, -ga a member of a Negroid people of S central Africa, living chiefly in Zambia and Zimbabwe
2. (Linguistics / Languages) the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family
Tonga2
n
(Placename) a kingdom occupying an archipelago of more than 150 volcanic and coral islands in the SW Pacific, east of Fiji: inhabited by Polynesians; became a British protectorate in 1900 and gained independence in 1970; a member of the Commonwealth. Official languages: Tongan and English. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: pa'anga. Capital: Nuku'alofa. Pop.: 101 000 (2001 est.). Area: 750 sq. km (290 sq. miles) Also called Friendly Islands
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Tonga - a monarchy on a Polynesian archipelago in the South Pacific; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1970Polynesia - the islands in the eastern part of Oceania Tongan - a Polynesian native or inhabitant of Tonga |
| 2. |  Tonga - the language of the Tongan people of south central Africa (Zambia and Rhodesia)Bantoid language, Bantu - a family of languages widely spoken in the southern half of the African continent |
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