The Māori word "tikanga" has a wide range of meanings — code, condition, convention, culture, custom, element, ethic, etiquette, fashion, feature, formality, lore, manner, meaning, mechanism, method, style.

Generally taken to mean "the Maori way of doing things", it is derived from the Maori word "tika" meaning right or correct.

From about the 1980s it began to creep into common New Zealand English because of new laws that specified the need for consultation with local iwi (tribal) representatives in many major fields such as resource management.

See also Taha Maori and Culture of the Maori.