See also: POI and P.O.I.

English edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

 
A bowl of poi.

Borrowed from Hawaiian poi.

Noun edit

poi (uncountable)

  1. (Hawaii) The traditional staple food of Hawaii, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment. [from 18th c.]
    • 2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 104:
      It was a far cry from the traditional Hawaiian feast, which always included the beloved poi, a purplish paste made from pounded taro root [] .
  2. A creamy Samoan dessert of ripe bananas mashed with coconut cream.

Etymology 2 edit

 
Fire poi (juggling).

Borrowed from Maori poi.

Noun edit

poi (plural poi or pois)

  1. (New Zealand) A small ball made of leaves and fibres, attached to a string. [from 19th c.]
    • 2008, Ellen Koskoff, “Haka poi”, in The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Routledge, →ISBN, page 738:
      Warriors formerly used poi actions to maintain wrist flexibility, but poi have developed as a women's dance. Classic poi dances and songs are reputed to have been those of the people of the Taranaki, Rotorua, and Whanganui tribal areas, but poi are now performed everywhere in Aotearoa.
    • 2013, Catriona Rainsford, The Urban Circus: Travels with Mexico's Malabaristas, Bradt Travel Guides, →ISBN, page 18:
      A couple of days later Trico announced that, if I were to travel with them, it was imperative that I learn some form of malabares, or circus skill. The available options were poi, staff or juggling. ‘Poi’, the form of malabares that Sandra played, are two balls at the end of chains which are spun in patterns around the body. When the balls are replaced by wicks soaked in gasoline and set alight, the poi ‘spin fire’.
  2. (New Zealand) A traditional dance performed by Maori women involving the rhythmic swinging of such a ball. [from 19th c.]

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Guaraní edit

Verb edit

poi

  1. to quit (doing something)
  2. to let go, to unleash

Conjugation edit

Hawaiian edit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology edit

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun edit

poi

  1. Traditional staple food of Hawaiʻi. A porridge-like substance made from cooked and ground taro corm mixed with water.

Italian edit

Etymology edit

From Vulgar Latin *pos, from Classical Latin post.[1] Compare Portuguese pois, Spanish pues, French puis, and Romanian apoi / Romanian poi (archaic păi).

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

poi

  1. then
  2. later

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Noun edit

il poi m (invariable)

  1. the future

References edit

  1. ^ “poi” in: Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, “l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana”, Le Monnier, 2010, →ISBN

Anagrams edit

Japanese edit

Romanization edit

poi

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ぽい
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ポイ

Jingpho edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Burmese ပွဲ (pwai:).

Noun edit

poi

  1. feast, festival

References edit

  • Kurabe, Keita (2016 December 31) “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research[1], volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

Old French edit

Etymology edit

From Latin paucus.

Adjective edit

poi m or f (invariable)

  1. few; little

Adverb edit

poi

  1. little; not much

Pronoun edit

poi

  1. few; not many (people, objects etc.)

Descendants edit

  • French: peu

Polish edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈpɔ.i/
  • Rhymes: -ɔi
  • Syllabification: po‧i

Verb edit

poi

  1. third-person singular present of poić

Romanian edit

Adverb edit

poi

  1. Alternative form of apoi

Samoan edit

Noun edit

poi

  1. Samoan poi

Sukurum edit

Noun edit

poi

  1. water

References edit

  • Susanne Holzknecht, The Markham languages of Papua New Guinea (1989), page 71