1. vt., To pound, punch, strike, box, hit, hammer; to beat out, as metals; to churn, as butter; to boom or clap, as thunder; to smite, injure; to jar; to prod, as ʻopihi shells from rocks with a knife, formerly with sharp stones; to clash (as sound).
- Examples:
- Piha kuʻi ka hale, the house is jammed full.
- Kuʻi palu, to pound, as bait [to give a threshing].
- Related:
- With a fronted n-word, for emphasis, kuʻi is used as a stative: ʻA ʻole naʻu ʻoe ā kuʻi, na kēlā wahi keiki …, nāna ʻoe e kuʻi (Laie 387), I won't fight you, that little boy … will fight you.
- hoʻokuʻi Caus/sim.; To hit, pound, collide, crash, bump. Figuratively, to hurt the felings.
- Hālāwai hoʻokuʻi, collision; to collide.
- Hoʻokuʻi i ka manamana, stub the toe.
- References:
2. nvt., To join, stitch, sew, splice, unite; joined; seam.
- Examples:
- Nā lā kuʻi o ke kapu akua, days of godly taboo; literally, days, joined.
- Aliʻi kuʻi, the power behind the throne, the one who really holds the reins [often used in a derogatory way].
- E kuʻi ka māmā ā loaʻa ʻo Kaʻohele, combines speeds and get Kaʻohele [a famous runner, Kaʻohele, could be caught only by relay runners; said of any cooperation].
- Related:
- Hula kuʻi, any interpretive hula, so called since the days of Kalākaua; literally, joined hula, i.e., old and new steps were joined together.
- hoʻokuʻi Caus/sim.
- References:
a. To join, connect, annex, weld, unite; to connect, as letters in forming a word; to spell; to dovetail, fit, splice; to add up, as numbers.
- Examples:
- Hoʻokuʻi nei kou alelo i ka hoʻopunipuni (Hal. 50.19), thy tongue frameth deceit.
- Related:
b. Zenith.
- Examples:
- Mai ka hoʻoku ʻi ā ka hālāwai, from zenith to horizon.
3. vs., Artificial.
- Examples:
- Lauoho kuʻi, wig or switch.
- Niho kuʻi, false teeth.
- Wāwae kuʻi, artificial leg.
4. n., Back tooth, molar, tusk.
5. vi., To disseminate news; to spread, as news.
- Examples:
- Kuʻi ka lono i Pelekane, the news spread to England.
- References:
6. n., Elbow of pipe.
7. vs., Sheer, steep, tall.
- Examples:
- Kuʻu kaikuaʻana o ka pali hiʻi, pali kuʻi o Ka-liu-waʻa (chant by Kamapuaʻa), my older brother of the sheer cliff, steep cliffs of Kaliuwaʻa.
8. n., Move in the kōnane game.