Kahuna
/kəˈhuːnə/noun
A Hawaiian priest, expert, or respected specialist.
Did you know?In traditional Hawaiian usage, kahuna could refer to a priest, healer, sorcerer, or any highly skilled expert, showing how knowledge itself could be treated as sacred power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Polynesian
PPolynesian
*tauhuna
“An expert, specialist, or priestly authority”
Proto-Oceanic
POceanic
*tauhuna
“A person skilled in a craft or ritual role”
Hawaiian
Hawaiian
kahuna
“A priest, healer, sorcerer, or expert in a field”
19th Century
English
kahuna
“Borrowed into English, especially in references to Hawaiian religious specialists”
Modern English
English
kahuna
“A Hawaiian priest or, informally, an important or influential person”