Meanings
nounali'i (plural ali'i)
- HawaiihistoricalA member of a noble Hawaiian family.
The chiefs also conscripted the commoners into armies and for countless years, warfare periodically erupted among rival ali‘i, who fought over land, fishing rights, and perceived insults.
2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page xx
Origin
- Proto-Polynesian*qariki
- Hawaiianaliʻi
- Englishali'i
Borrowed from Hawaiian aliʻi, from Proto-Polynesian *qariki.
More words from Hawaiian
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
ali'i. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ali'i
MLA
“ali'i.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ali'i. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ali'i,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ali'i.
Source: ali'i on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.