Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word awa. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word awa, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say awa in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word awa you have here. The definition of the word awa will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofawa, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
1874, Charles Nordhoff, Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands, New York: Harper & Brothers, page 92:
The manner of preparing awa is peculiarly disgusting. The root is chewed by women, and the spit out well-chewed mouthfuls into a calabash.
1900, Oliver P. Emerson, “The Awa Habit of the Hawaiians”, in All about Hawaii: The Recognized Book of Authentic Information on Hawaii, Combined with Thrum's Hawaiian Annual and Standard Guide, Honolulu: Honolulu Gazette Co., page 131:
The awa plant is a species of pepper, the piper methysticum of the botanist, and is described as having fleshy stems from two to three feet high.
1911 October 26, Daniel Logan, editor, The Hawaiian Forester and Agriculturist, volume 8, Honolulu, Hawaii, page 356:
The majority say that there is little awa growing wild on Government lands, the bulk of that at present in the market being obtained from cultivated patches.
An intoxicating drink made from the kava plant, typically the root.
1900, Oliver P. Emerson, “The Awa Habit of the Hawaiians”, in All about Hawaii: The Recognized Book of Authentic Information on Hawaii, Combined with Thrum's Hawaiian Annual and Standard Guide, Honolulu: Honolulu Gazette Co., page 134:
The Hawaiian gods were supposed to be particularly addicted to the use of awa. Songs were sung in praise of the drink.
1910, S. M. Kanakau, “Ancient Hawaiian Religious Beliefs and Ceremonies”, in Thros. G. Thrum, editor, The Hawaiian Annual for 1911, Honolulu: Thros. G. Thrum, page 150:
When the prayer had finished, the awa was drunk and the sacred feast then began.
^ Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “awa”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, revised & enlarged edition, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN, page 33
^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “awa”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 2: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 116-7
Other Polynesian languages generally retain the Proto-Polynesian meaning (e.g. Samoan and Hawaiianawa); the Māori cognate gains an additional new meaning of "river" as the large rivers observed in newly explored New Zealand were perceived more similar to channels than the small streams (Proto-Polynesian *waitafe “flowing waters” corresponding to waitahe – see also Hawaiianwaikahe, Tonganvaitafe, Samoanvaitafe)[2] known by the Māori's prior ancestors.[3]
^ Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 2: The Physical Environment, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 116-7
^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “wai-tafe”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
^ Bruce Biggs (1994) “New Words for a New World”, in A. K. Pawley, M. D. Ross, editors, Austronesian Terminologies: Continuity and Change (Pacific Linguistics Series C; 127), Australian National University, →DOI, page 25
Further reading
Williams, Herbert William (1917) “awa”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, page 28
“awa” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.
B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “awa”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
^ Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “awa”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
^ Trinidad Hermenegildo Pardo de Tavera (1887) El sanscrito en la lengua tagalog (in Spanish), Paris: Imprimerie de la Faculté de Médecine, A. Davy, page 18
Further reading
“awa”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
1 Except for yín, object pronouns have a high tone following a low or mid tone monosyllabic verb, and a mid tone following a high tone. For complex verbs, the tone does not change.