Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. vt., To snatch, grab, take by force, seize, abduct, usurp; to gasp, labor for breath.

• Examples:
  • Kāʻili malū, to seize or abduct secretly, kidnap.
  • Moku kāʻili lā, sun-snatching island [Lehua Island or sometimes Kauaʻi, since they lie to the west].
  • Ka wai kāʻili ao, liquid that snatches away enlightenment [intoxicants].
• Related:
  • hoʻokāʻili Caus/sim.; To tug and pull as though to snatch, but not with great force, as in playing with a kitten; to cause a snatching, etc.
• References:
  • See song, Elbert and Mahoe 58–9.
  • PCP taakili.

2. vt., To cast for fish.

3. n., Fine net as used for ʻōpelu fishing.

• References:
  • Malo 212.

• Related:
  • Mana kāʻili o ke aupuni. Eminent domain, i.e. the right of the government to take, or to authorize taking, the private property of a citizen for public use with just compensation being given to the citizen whose property has been taken.