pau

P3A1U1

adjective

done; over; finished

OriginHawaiian pau →
Less commonScrabble 5
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Meanings

pau1

nounpau (plural paus)

plural paus

  1. alternativeAlternative form of pa (“Maori fort”).

pau2

adjectivepau (not comparable)
  1. Hawaiinot comparabledone; over; finished

    When the county truck was pau hauling rubbish for the day, […]

    2004, Mike Ashman, Kauaʻi Historical Society, Kauai as it was in the 1940s and '50s
    1 more example

    I had never known any haoles except Elmer and Marks and they were ice cold affairs. Everyone was always glad when their twice-a-month visit was pau. The very island seemed to sigh with relief […]

    1946, Armine Von Tempski, Bright Spurs, page 122

pau3

noun
  1. historicalA unit of volume used in Brunei, Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak, equivalent to 2 imperial gills (approximately 0.284 litres or 0.6 US pints).

pau4

noun
  1. MalaysiaSingaporealternativeAlternative form of bao (“baozi; Chinese steamed buns with filling”).

Pau5

proper noun
  1. A city, the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France.
  2. A commune of the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
baozisangza

Origin

pau · adjective

  1. Hawaiianpau“done, finished”
  2. Englishpau

From Hawaiian Pidgin English pau, from Hawaiian pau (“done, finished”).

More words from Hawaiian

Full word history & related roots →

pau · noun

  1. Chinese包
  2. Chinese包
  3. Englishpau

Borrowed from Chinese 包.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بو, باو
  • بو (bū)city in New Aquitaine, France
  • باو (bāw)commune in Sardinia, Italy
Basque Paue
  • Pauecity in New Aquitaine, France
Catalan Pau
  • Paucity in New Aquitaine, France
Esperanto Paŭo
  • Paŭocity in New Aquitaine, France
French Pau
  • Paucity in New Aquitaine, France
Italian Pau
  • Paucommune in Sardinia, Italy
Japanese ポー, パーウ
  • ポー (Pō)city in New Aquitaine, France
  • パーウ (Pāu)commune in Sardinia, Italy
Latin Palum, Pavum
  • Palumcity in New Aquitaine, France
  • Pavumcommune in Sardinia, Italy

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

pua
Cite this entry
APA

pau. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pau

MLA

“pau.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pau. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pau,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pau.

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