Definitions (language)

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Definitions for Hawaiian, Pidgin and other words you may not be familiar with.

Hawaiian and Hawaiian Pidgin are used in everyday life here. This is where you will find definitions for common words used in articles on our website.

When we use words you may not be familiar with we put links to the definition found in this section of the website. This is not intended to be an authoritative dictionary of Hawaiian – wehewehe.org is a great online resource for Hawaiian definitions.

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‘A’ā (lava)

‘A’ā is loose basaltic lava rubble with a broken, and sharp surface. The broken lava rubble is called clinker. This Hawaiian word is used as the technical term to describe this type of lava in geology.

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‘Aina

‘Aina: The land

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‘Iwa

‘Iwa: (ee-va) – Large wide-winged tropical frigates with wingspans of up to six feet.

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Ahupua’a

Ahupua'a ('ahoo-poo-ah-ah'): Traditional Hawaiian land divisions. Most contain a stream and were self-sufficient pie-slices running from mountain to ocean.

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Ali’i

Chief. Chiefly status. King, Queen, Royal.

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