hala

H4A1L1A1

noun

Pandanus tectorius, a screw pine native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

OriginHawaiian hala ← Proto-Polynesian *fara ← Proto-Oceanic *padran →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

hala1

nounhala (plural halas or hala)

plural halas

  1. Pandanus tectorius, a screw pine native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

hala2

adjectivehala (comparative more hala, superlative most hala)

comparative more hala · superlative most hala

  1. dialectalobsoleteEmbarrassed or ashamed.

    Hack. Kiſs, kiſs her, Man; this Town affords ſuch every where; you'll hate the Country, when you ſee a little more; kiſs her, I ſay. Lolp. I am ſo hala; I am aſhamed.

    1688, Thomas Shadwell, The Squire of Alsatia

Origin

  1. Proto-Austronesian*paŋudaN
  2. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*paŋdan
  3. Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*padan
  4. Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian*padan
  5. Proto-Oceanic*padran
  6. Proto-Polynesian*fara
  7. Hawaiianhala
  8. Englishhala

Borrowed from Hawaiian hala, ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paŋdan. Doublet of pandan via Malay.

More words from Hawaiian, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Ahal
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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