Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. Reduplication of ʻai #1; eating, spreading, festering, increasing, as a sore; ulcerous, cancerous, malignant; to eat away, corrode; to take bait readily, as fish; erosion.

• Examples:
  • He maʻi ʻaʻai, a spreading sore, infection, or cancer.
  • ʻAʻai ka hīnālea i ka ʻōpae, the hīnālea fish takes the shrimp [bait] readily.
  • Nā manaʻo ʻaʻai ʻawa kaniʻuhū, heartbreaking, sad thoughts.
• References:
  • See ʻaʻaiole.

2. vs., Bright, vivid, as of contrasting colors.

• Examples:
  • ʻAʻai ka lei hulu melemele i ka holokū ʻeleʻele, a yellow feather lei appears brighter on a black Mother Hubbard.

3. Same as ʻaʻei, a net.

• Related:
  • Maʻi ʻaʻai ʻanapuʻu. Lymphoma.

Bright, as with contrasting colors.

The fine meshed net used to catch ʻōpelu and maomao.

Spreading sores or lesions; to increase or grow, as an ulcer.

Action of the surf at high tide, as it dashes ashore and then recedes, thus depositing sand and gravel or eroding them depending on the season.

Erosion; the action of the surf at high tide, when dashing to shore and then receding, thus wearing away the gravel (AP).