kapu

K5A1P3U1

noun

Taboo, especially in Hawaiian contexts.

OriginHawaiian kapu ← Proto-Polynesian *tapu ← Proto-Oceanic *tabu →
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Meanings

kapu1

nounkapu (plural kapu or kapus)

plural kapus

  1. Taboo, especially in Hawaiian contexts.

    The operation of taboos – or kapu – kept society ordered, quite cruelly on occasion.

    2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 43

Kapu2

nounKapu (plural Kapus)

plural Kapus

  1. A member of a caste of agriculturists found primarily in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Origin

  1. Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*tambu
  2. Proto-Oceanic*tabu
  3. Proto-Polynesian*tapu
  4. Hawaiiankapu
  5. Englishkapu

From Hawaiian kapu, from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu. Doublet of taboo.

More words from Hawaiian, Proto-Polynesian, Proto-Oceanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

pukaKaup
Cite this entry
APA

kapu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapu

MLA

“kapu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapu. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kapu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kapu.

Source: kapu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.