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Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day: September 1st

By Leilani Poliʻahu

Published September 1, 2025 at 12:00 AM HST

Our Hawaiian word for today is another borrowed word, kepakemapa. And yes, it’s the Hawaiian word for “September.” Like other names of the months, it was borrowed from English.

Hawaiian Word of the Day

Leilani Poliʻahu

See stories by Leilani Poliʻahu

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Hawaiian Word of the Day: September 15th

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We used to see so many signs that read “kapu” that people joked about Kapu being a Hawaiian who owned all that land. Actually, kapu, means taboo, prohibition, or even sacredness, or forbidden. And yes, on those signs it has come to mean “keep out.”
Hawaiian Word of The Day

Hawaiian Word of the Day: September 12th

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Our Hawaiian word for today, hāpai, is one most people in Hawaiʻi already know and use, even in English conversation. It means to carry, and is most often used to describe a woman who is expecting a baby. It also means “to lift, raise, hoist, hold up, or support.”