Kiwi (people)

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Kiwi is the nickname used internationally for people from New Zealand. The name derives from the flightless bird native to New Zealand, the national bird.

The first New Zealanders to be widely known as kiwis were the military. The Regimental Signs for all New Zealand Regiments feature the kiwi, including those which fought in the Second Boer War then with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in World War I. The Oxford English Dictionary give the first use of the Kiwi to mean New Zealand in 1918, in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force Chronicles.

In World War I, the British Army ordered several tons of Kiwi brand polish to be used by the soldiers on their boots, belts, saddles and other horse tack.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} The polish was popular and in the postwar era the company enjoyed growing sales worldwide. Kiwi polish was used even more widely in World War II.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

The nickname Kiwis for New Zealand servicemen eventually became common usage in all war theatres. ^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]} Following World War II it was gradually attributed to all New Zealanders and today, throughout the world they are referred to as Kiwis.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

The word Kiwi, used to describe people, is often capitalised, and takes the plural form Kiwis. The bird's name is spelt with a lower-case k (except, of course, when the rules of grammar state otherwise) and, being a word of Māori origin, normally stays as kiwi when a plural is formed. Thus, two Kiwis = two people, whereas two kiwi = two birds.

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