Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. n., Bitter yam (Dioscorea bulbifera 🌐, synonym D. sativa), a vine with cylindrical stem, heart-shaped leaves, small tuberous root, round aerial tubers. The tubers, used only in times of famine, need long washing to make them fit to eat.

• Examples:
  • Ua ua paha, ke ulu nei ka hoi, perhaps it's been raining, the hoi is growing [said when someone looks happy, a play on hoi #1 and hoi #2].
• Related:
  • Called piʻoi on Kauaʻi.
• References:
  • HP 167, Neal 230.
  • See Kauluhoi.
  • PPN soi.

2. Same as hoihoi.

• Examples:
  • Kū ʻole i ka hoi, not suiting; displeasing.

s. The name of a vine bearing a bulbous root, eaten in time of scarcity, acrid to the taste.

s. The name of a state of marriage among chiefs.

Bitter yam (Dioscorea bulbifera), a vine with a round stem, heart-shaped leaves, small tuberous roots, and round aerial tubers (ʻalaʻala) at the leaf axils. Neither the root nor aerial tuber were commonly eaten except in time of famine. (NEAL 230.)

Wild, bitter yam (Dioscorea bulbifera), called piʻoi on Kauaʻi. It is a vine with a round stem, heart-shaped leaves, and small tubers (laʻala) that develop on the aerial stems and produce plants when they fall off. It is prolific and an uncultivated plant. The aerial tubers are poisonous but in time of famine can be eaten if thoroughly washed and cooked. (HP 167–168.)

adv. also besides moreover, indeed; an intensitive, no hoi also