Aku
/ˈɑːkuː/noun
A skipjack tuna, especially as used in Hawaiian cuisine.
Did you know?Hawaiian aku belongs to a wider Polynesian naming tradition for ocean fish, reflecting how seafaring cultures preserved knowledge through compact, memorable words.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
Proto-Polynesian
*ʻatu
“A bonito or tuna-like ocean fish; the reconstructed ancestral form is associated with later Polynesian fish names.”
Eastern Polynesian
Polynesian
ʻatu / aku
“A bonito or skipjack-type fish in related Polynesian languages.”
18th–19th Century
Hawaiian
aku
“Skipjack tuna or bonito, a significant food fish in Hawaiian culture.”
19th Century
English
aku
“A Hawaiian name for skipjack tuna, adopted into English usage.”
Modern English
English
aku
“Skipjack tuna, especially in references to Hawaiian fishing or cuisine.”