English

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 haole on Wikipedia

Etymology

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From Hawaiian haole.

Noun

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haole (plural haole or haoles)

  1. (Hawaii, somewhat derogatory) A non-Hawaiian, usually specifically a white.
    • 1946, Armine Von Tempski, Bright Spurs, page 122:
      I had never known any haoles except Elmer and Marks and they were ice cold affairs. Everyone was always glad when their twice-a-month visit was pau. The very island seemed to sigh with relief []
    • 2009 January 18, Lois-ann Yamanaka, “This Man Is an Island”, in New York Times[2]:
      And the white guy who ate Rice-A-Roni with butter was the haole who didn’t speak pidgin or eat real rice.
    • 2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 27:
      Commerce was flourishing in the kingdom and the rising merchant class was made up largely of haole rather than Hawaiians.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Hawaiian

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Etymology

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Unknown. The word pre-dates contact with Europeans.[1] A popular folk etymology analyzes the word as (breath) +‎ ʻole (not), referencing the fact that foreigners did not know the traditional honi greeting, which involves simultaneous inhalation. However, such a derivation is unlikely: haole lacks the long ā and glottal stop that would be expected if this were the origin of the word.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈhao̯.le/, [ˈhɐo̯.le]

Noun

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haole

  1. foreigner
  2. Caucasian
  3. Englishman, Englishwoman, American

Verb

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haole

  1. (stative) foreign
  2. (stative) Caucasian, white
  3. (stative) English, American
    ʻōlelo haole — English language

References

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  1. ^ Judy Rohrer (2010 July 22) Haloles in Hawaii[1], University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 59