Etymology

Hawaii

Ha·waii
H4A1W4A1I1I1

Today it means: An insular state of the United States, formerly a territory. Capital: Honolulu. Full definition →

Hawaiian Hawaiʻi ← Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *Sawaiki
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The story

  1. Proto-Nuclear Polynesian*Sawaiki
  2. HawaiianHawaiʻi
  3. English todayHawaii

Borrowed from Hawaiian Hawaiʻi, from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *Sawaiki (“traditional homeland”).

Words from the same roots

HawaiianHawaiʻi all →

Owyhee

Proto-Nuclear Polynesian*Sawaiki all →

HawaikiSavai'i

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.