List of English words of Hawaiian origin
A number of
Hawaiian words have made their way into the
English language. Within
Hawai'i, an English-speaking state in the
United States, the number of Hawaiian words used in everyday conversation is quite large, so the listing here is presumably limited to those words that are known or used by persons otherwise not especially familiar with
Hawaiian English. The list could as well include many place names, such as Hawaii and Waikiki, which are "Hawaiian words" known and used by English language speakers who have never lived in Hawai'i. Some Hawaiian names used for children, especially girls, are presently popular in the U.S., although most Americans would not know the meaning of the words.
;
Aa: a kind of rough-surface volcanic rock
Akamai: A hawaiian word meaning "intelligent" or "clever";
Aloha: Hawaiian word for "hello", "goodbye", and "love"; outside of Hawai'i, only the "hello" (or "goodbye") meaning is common
Haole: Hawaiian for "foreign" or "foreigner";
Hula: the ancient Hawaiian form of dance; also see
hula hoopKahuna: Hawaiian priest, wizard, shaman; used in the slang phrase "big kahuna";
Pahoehoe: a kind of smooth-surface volcanic rock
Lei: a garland of flowers and/or leaves to be worn;
Luau: a Hawaiian feast
Ohana: Hawaiian word for "family";
Poi: Hawaiian food made from mashing
corms of the
taro plant
Ukulele: a musical intrument; in Hawaiian the word means "jumping flea";
Wiki: Hawaiian for "fast"; used in "
Wikipedia"
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The category of words with Hawaiian derivations at
Wiktionary, Wikipedia's sister project
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Lists of English words of international origin.
