makahiki

Hawaiian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Eastern Polynesian *matafiti, Proto-Eastern Polynesian *matasiti. Cognate with Maori Matariki.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ma.kaˈhi.ki/, [mə.kəˈhi.ti]

Noun

makahiki

  1. a year
  2. a four-month festival in ancient Hawai'i which lasted from approximately October to February, during which time there were sports and religious activities and war was taboo

References

  • Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “makahiki”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.