kuʻu
1. v. To let go; to loosen; to release; to slacken, as a rope that is too tight; to let down, as by a rope; to let down from the shoulder. Kin. 24:18. 2. To dismiss or send away, as on an errand; to send away, as a messenger; to allow to come. Lunk. 13:8. 3. To put down, as one in authority; to dethrone. 4. To pay out, as a rope or cable in casting anchor. 5. To loose, i. e., to cast, as a net into the water for fish; to take fish in a net, i. e., to let down the net for them; to become calm, as the mind after intense anxiety; to be assuaged. Laieik. 77. 6. To give liberty; to suffer or permit to be done. 7. To cause to do; to suffer to be done. Kanl. 18:10. 8. E kuu i ka uhane, to give up the ghost; to die. Kin. 35:29. 9. To fail; to give up; to cease to help. Kanl. 31:6, 8. 10. Hoo. To excuse; to let go; to send away, as a multitude. Puk. 3:18. 11. To lead out of an inclosure; to deliver from difficulty; to set free from; e hoomaha, pau ka nae make. 12. s. A releasing; a letting go. 13. nvt., vs. • to release, let go, discharge, abandon, free, dismiss, give up, yield, slacken;
• to pay out, as a line or cable;
• to settle, as earth;
• to diminish, as stream water;
• to fail to help (Kanl. 31.6);
• to finish, as a chant;
• to adjourn,
• put down,
• subside.
• fig., to be at peace
(see idioms that follow). 14. The act of taking fish in a net. NOTE. This idea is more from letting down the net than from insnaring the fish. see the verb 5. 15. s. The name of a species of fish net; he upena kuu. 16. nvt. type of net let down from a canoe; gill net; to set or lower a net or catch in a net. 17. adj. pron It is used for ko, ko'u and ka'u, my, mine, what belongs to me. NOTE.—Kuu is often synonymous with ko'u and ka'u, but as these apply to different things, and the speaker was at a loss which to use, it was proper, i. e., grammatical to use kuu; thus, Hawaiians say ka'u keiki, ko'u hale, but not ko'u keiki or ka'u hale; but it is correct enough to say kuu keiki and kuu hale. Gram. § 150, 4. 18. poss. my, mine (this form may replace both kaʻu and koʻu; it is frequently used before ipo and lei and kinship terms and expresses affection. 19. vi. to land, as an airplane or bird. Niʻihau.
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92
ʻAkahi hoʻi kuʻu ʻono i ka uhu kāʻalo i kuʻu maka.
Now I long for the uhu fish that passes before my eyes.
[How I would like that handsome fellow for a sweetheart. The uhu is a bright-colored fish, beautiful to look at, and tasty.]
363
E nui ke aho, e kuʻu keiki, a moe i ke kai, no ke kai lā hoʻi ka ʻāina.
Take a deep breath, my son, and lay yourself in the sea, for then the land shall belong to the sea.
[Uttered by the priest Kaʻopulupulu at Waiʻanae. Weary with the cruelty and injustice of Kahāhana, chief of Oʻahu, Kaʻopulupulu walked with his son to Waiʻanae, where he told his son to throw himself into the sea. The boy obeyed, and there died. Kaʻopulupulu was later slain and taken to Waikīkī where he was laid on the sacrificial altar at Helumoa.]
606
Hei akula i ka ʻupena kuʻu a ka Lawakua.
Caught in the drawnet of the Lawakua breeze.
[Ensnarled by beguiling words.]
774
He luelue ka ʻupena e kuʻu ai.
The fine-meshed net is the one to let down into the sea.
[A fine-meshed net misses nothing, big or small. In seeking wealth, the small things are just as important as the big ones.]
1285
Kaha akula ka nalu o kuʻu ʻāina.
The surf of my land has swept everything away.
[A retort to one who boasts about the value and beauty of his own land.]
1932
Kuʻu ēwe, kuʻu piko, kuʻu iwi, kuʻu koko.
My umbilical cord, my navel, my bones, my blood.
[Said of a very close relative.]
1933
Kuʻu ʻia ka palu i piʻi ka moano.
To let down the mashed fish lure so that the moano fish rises to the surface.
[To tell tall tales that attract gullible people. Palu (fish lure) here refers to lies. The fish come with the idea of feasting and are caught.]
1934
Kuʻu ka luhi, ua maha.
He has let down his weariness and is at rest.
[He is dead. He has left all his labors, all that wearied his mind and body, and now he is at peace.]
1935
Kuʻu manu lawelawe ō o Hoʻolehua.
My bird of Hoʻolehua that cries out about food.
[Said of the kioea, whose cry sounds like “Lawelawe ke ō! Lawelawe ke ō!" (“Take the food! Take the food!”). The kioea is the bird that calls to the fishermen to set out to sea.]
2137
Manaʻo pahaʻoe i kaʻeleʻele o kuʻu kuʻemaka he kauā au nāu?
Do you think that because my eyebrows are black I am your servant?
[Said in annoyance by one who is asked to do distasteful work. Kauā were sometimes identifiable by the black tattoos on their foreheads.]
2476
ʻO kuʻu wahi ōpū weuweu lā, nou ia.
Let my little clump of grass be yours.
[A humble way of offering the use of one’s grass house to a friend.]