ʻio
1. n. short rib extending upward from the tip of a paddle, on the forward surface. 2. prep. Nearly syn. with ia; used before proper names and pronouns. To; towards. Iob. 5:1. But implying motion. 3. adv. I, prep., and o, there. Yonder; aia no ia io, there he is yonder. see O. Io ia nei, adverbial phrase, hither and thither. 4. s. A species of bird; a hawk. 5. n. Hawaiian hawk (Buteo solitarius), an endemic and endangered hawk with dark and light color phases, confined to forests on the island of Hawaiʻi, where it is regarded by some as an ʻaumakua. The ʻio signified royalty because of its lofty flight, and hence occurs in such names as ʻIo-lani, royal hawk. 6. nvi. to twitter, chirp, peep; peeping. 7. v. To flee; to hasten away with fear. 8. vi. to flee. 9. nvi. a round, light-colored bitter gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), about 30 cm in diameter. 10. s. Name of a game. 11. nvi. tag; a Hawaiian game similar to tag; to play these games. 12. v. To be loaded with bundles; ua alaulau. 13. nvi. bundle or food package; loaded with such bundles. 14. s. A forerunner; one who announces the approach of a chief. 15. n. one who announces the presence of a chief; herald. 16. n. probably the name of a stroke in lua fighting; also a low stroke in club fighting 17. placename. street, Kapālama section, Honolulu, named for the ʻio hawk, a symbol of royalty because it flies to great heights. 18. s. Lean flesh; the animal muscle. Anat. 3. A muscle; he io ku e, an antagonistic muscle. Anat. 26. 19. Flesh in general. Puk. 29:14. 20. Flesh, i. e., person. Oihk. 16:4. 21. One's flesh, i. e., kindred; relation. Kin. 29:14. Io maha, the muscle on the side of the head. 22. s. Part; portion; reality; truth; verity. Ezek. 12:23. 23. adj. True; real; not imaginary; ua paa ka manao o kanaka he akua io no o Lono, the minds of the people were firm that Lono (Captain Cook) was a real god. 24. adv. Truly; really; verily; certainly; oiaio, truth. Io is a strong intensive. Pela io no ka hana ana a lakou; aohe io o ka hewa, the wickedness is great.
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638
He ʻio au, ʻaʻohe lālā kau ʻole.
I am a hawk; there is no branch on which I cannot perch.
[I can go anywhere I please; I am a chief.]
639
He ʻio au, he manu i ka lewa lani.
I am an ʻio, the bird that soars in the heavenly space.
[A boast. The highest chiefs were often called ʻio (hawk), king of the Hawaiian birds.]
640
He ʻio ʻoe, he ʻio au, he ʻio nā ʻānela o ke akua, kiʻi maila nō iā ʻoe a lawe.
You are a hawk, I am a hawk, and the angels of God are hawks.
[Uttered by Hitchcock, a missionary, over the coffin of a sorcerer who had threatened to pray him to death and referred to himself as an ʻio, the bird that flies the highest.]
641
He ʻio poʻi moa.
Chicken-catching hawk.
[Said of a clever thief or of one who steals the sweetheart of another.]
1288
Kaha ka ʻio i ka mālie.
The ʻio bird poises in the calm.
[Said in admiration of a handsome person. An ʻio dips gracefully as it flies, with wings that flap slowly.]
1412
Ka ʻio nui maka lana au moku.
The great ʻio with eyes that see everywhere on the land.
[A ruling chief.]
1802
Kinikini kauhale liʻiliʻi o lalo lilo e. “He Ahu au no Kaʻū”; “He ʻIo au no Hilo.”
A multitude are the small houses way down helow. [The inhabitants claim,] “I am an Ahu of Kaʻu’ and “I am an ʻIo of Hilo.”
[This saying is used in anger or to make fun of those who are low in rank yet claim relationship with the high chiefs. A play on ahu (a heap of nothing), ʻū (a grunt of contempt) in Kaʻū, and ʻio, the mighty hawk that sits on any branch it chooses.]
2418
ʻO Kalani ka ʻio o Lelepā, ka ʻālapa piʻi moʻo o Kū.
The heavenly one is the hawk of Lelepā, the warrior descendant of Kū.
[Retort of a kahu when he overheard someone criticize his chief, Kamehameha, who was then only a young warrior. He used the name Lele-pā to imply that his chief could fly over any barrier.]