poi

1. HawaiiuncountableThe traditional staple food of Hawaii, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment.First known use 18th c.

   It was a far cry from the traditional Hawaiian feast, which always included the beloved poi, a purplish paste made from pounded taro root […].

   2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 104

2. uncountableA creamy Samoan dessert of ripe bananas mashed with coconut cream.

plural pois

1. New ZealandcountableuncountableA small ball made of leaves and fibres, attached to a string.First known use 19th c.

   Warriors formerly used poi actions to maintain wrist flexibility, but poi have developed as a women's dance. Classic poi dances and songs are reputed to have been those of the people of the Taranaki, Rotorua, and Whanganui tribal areas, but poi are now performed everywhere in Aotearoa.

   2008, Ellen Koskoff, “Haka poi”, in The Concise Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Routledge, →ISBN, page 738

   1 more example

   A couple of days later Trico announced that, if I were to travel with them, it was imperative that I learn some form of malabares, or circus skill. The available options were poi, staff or juggling. ‘Poi’, the form of malabares that Sandra played, are two balls at the end of chains which are spun in patterns around the body. When the balls are replaced by wicks soaked in gasoline and set alight, the poi ‘spin fire’.

   2013, Catriona Rainsford, The Urban Circus: Travels with Mexico's Malabaristas, Bradt Travel Guides, →ISBN, page 18

2. New ZealandcountableuncountableA traditional dance performed by Maori women involving the rhythmic swinging of such a ball.First known use 19th c.

1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of poee (“Goan flatbread”).

plural POIs

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of point of interest.

   These POIs are usually visualized as icons (e.g., push pins, markers in Google Maps) in a base map, with some multimedia information—mostly text, images, and videos—attached to the icons (Haklay et al., 2008).

   2012, Michael P. Peterson, editor, Online Maps with APIs and WebServices, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 159

2. abbreviationinitialismpersonInitialism of person of interest.
3. abbreviationinitialismballisticsInitialism of point of impact.