Poliʻahu

Hawaiian

Etymology

poli (“bosom”) +‎ ʻahu (“garment”), literally “clothed bosom”, as the snow cloak of Mauna Kea.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /po.liˈʔa.hu/, [po.liˈʔɐ.hu]

Proper noun

Poliʻahu

1. (Hawaiian mythology) A snow goddess of Mauna Kea.
2. a female given name from Hawaiian, sometimes also given to men

References

• Mary Kawena Pukui - Samuel H. Elbert, Hawaiian Dictionary, University of Hawaii Press 1971, pages 396-397.
• Hawaii State Archives: Marriage records Poliahu (in the old orthography) occurs in 19th-century marriage records as the only name (mononym) of 2 women and 6 men, all of them on the Big Island.