Hawaii
/həˈwaɪ.i/noun
A U.S. state in the central Pacific Ocean, or the largest island in that archipelago.
Did you know?The name Hawaii is traditionally connected to a Polynesian ancestral homeland called Hawaiki, a culturally powerful place-name found across many Polynesian languages, though its deeper origin is not fully certain.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
PPN
*Sawaiki / *Hawaiki
“A traditional ancestral homeland or origin place in Polynesian cultural memory”
Old Hawaiian
Hawaiian
Hawaiʻi
“The name of the island group and related place-name form in Hawaiian tradition”
1778
English
Hawaii
“English spelling introduced after European contact with the islands”
19th Century
English
Hawaii
“Standardized English name for the islands and later the territory”
Modern English
English
Hawaii
“The modern name of the U.S. state and its largest island”