ʻāʻā

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔaːˈʔaː/

Etymology 1

Noun

ʻāʻā

1. dumbness
2. idiot, stupid person
3. (of speech) incomprehensibility

Verb

ʻāʻā

1. to stutter
2. (stative) dumb, silent
3. (stative) unintelligible

   Ua ʻāʻā ka leo.

   The voice is unintelligible.

Etymology 2

Noun

ʻāʻā

1. dwarf, small person

Verb

ʻāʻā

1. (stative) dwarfish, small

Etymology 3

Verb

ʻāʻā

1. (stative) demented
2. (stative) panicked

Derived terms

• hōʻāʻā (“to search in confusion”)

Etymology 4

Noun

ʻāʻā

2. alternative form of ʻā (“booby”)

Etymology 5

From Proto-Oceanic *ka(a)kaa (“kind of parrot”). Compare Tahitian ʻaʻā, Maori kākā.

Noun

ʻāʻā

2. male oo bird

See also

• ʻōʻō

References

• Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “ʻāʻā”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
• Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “KAAKAA.1A”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online