aumakua

A1U1M3A1K5U1A1

noun

In Hawaiian mythology, a personal or family god that originated as a deified ancestor, and which takes on physical forms such as animals to watch over descendants.

OriginHawaiian ʻaumakua ← Proto-Polynesian *matuqa ← Proto-Oceanic *matuqa →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounaumakua (plural aumakuas or aumakua)

plural aumakuas

  1. Hawaiian mythologyIn Hawaiian mythology, a personal or family god that originated as a deified ancestor, and which takes on physical forms such as animals to watch over descendants.

Origin

  1. Proto-Austronesian*kaSiw
  2. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*kahiw
  3. Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*kayu
  4. Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*kayu
  5. Proto-Oceanic*kayu
  6. Proto-Polynesian*kau
  7. Hawaiianʻau
  8. Proto-Austronesian*(ma-)tuqaS
  9. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*(ma-)tuqah
  10. Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*(ma-)tuqa
  11. Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*(ma-)tuqa
  12. Proto-Oceanic*matuqa
  13. Proto-Polynesian*matuqa
  14. Hawaiianmakua
  15. Hawaiianʻaumakua
  16. Englishaumakua

Borrowed from Hawaiian ʻaumakua.

More words from Hawaiian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

aumakua. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aumakua

MLA

“aumakua.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aumakua. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aumakua,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aumakua.

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