English words from Hawaiian
5 English words with Hawaiian in their history, whether borrowed directly or passed on through other languages.
aloha
It is borrowed from Hawaiian aloha (“love, compassion, affection; also a greeting”), cognate with Māori aroha, from which the Oxford Dictionary of English derives it instead. The OED notes that the…
hula
It is borrowed from Hawaiian hula, also hulahula, a reduplication of hula, which gave the English variant hula-hula. The verb is formed from the noun.
lei
It is borrowed from Hawaiian lei, in which the word means any ornament worn around the neck or on the head, usually one given as a sign of affection. Dictionary.com dates the borrowing to 1835–45…
poi
1. The word for the taro dish is borrowed from Hawaiian poi. Merriam-Webster Unabridged names Hawaiian and Samoan as the source, and the Shorter Oxford calls it Polynesian, comparing poipoi. The OED…
ukulele
It is borrowed from Hawaiian ʻukulele, literally "jumping flea" or "leaping flea", formed from ʻuku (“louse, flea”) and lele (“to fly, jump, leap”). The American Heritage Dictionary traces the two…