2. n. space. 3. s. The upper regions of the air; the region of the clouds; na ao o ka lewa, the clouds of the air. 4. The space where anything may be suspended. 5. The air; the atmosphere; the visible heavens; kahi o ke ea, ka lani; a particular place in the air or atmosphere; ma keia lewa o ka lani, in this part of the heavens. 6. vi. • to float, dangle, swing, hang, oscillate; swinging, dangling, pendulous, afloat, unstable;
• limber-jointed, of admired hula dancers.
7. v. To swing; to float in the air, as clouds; to hang in a swinging manner; to float in mid heaven; e lewa wale ana no (ka honua) i ka lani, (the earth) was floating freely in mid heaven. 8. To move back and forth like a hinge; e ami. 9. To float on the water. 10. To put a thing up in an unsafe place or in a tottering position where it may easily fall. 11. Hoo. To carry on the surface, as to float on water; e hoolewa me ka wai. 12. To be carried, as a coffin at a funeral, on the shoulders of men; i ka hoolewa ana i ke kupapau. 13. Whatever is suspended or movable. 14. adj. Swinging; pendulous; floating; unstable; homeless. 15. nvs. homeless vagabond, wanderer; landless, homeless. 16. Persons without home or local attachment. 1 Pet. 2:11. Auhea oukou e na kamalii o ka lewa mai, ame na kanaka makua o ka lewa mai no hoi. 17. vi. to know thoroughly, as a type of work; to be thoroughly familiar with, as a place. 18. n. name of a star. 19. A foreign country; mai ka lewa mai, mai ke kua mai o ka moku; o ke ano o ia mau olelo, ua hele mai lakou mai ka aina e mai, he lewa ia; a ma ke alo o keia aina, he kua o ka moku ia. D. Malo 3:22; 20. Name of that part of the ocean where it is deep. syn. with moana.
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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.]
913
He poʻo hūnā i ka lewa.
A head hidden in the sky.
[Said of a god, who is invisible. Also expressed He poʻo hūnā i ke aoūli.]
1113
Hōpoe, ka wahine lewa i ke kai.
Hōpoe, the woman who dances in the sea.
[Hōpoe was a dancer of Keaʻau, Puna, in that long ago day when gods mingled with men. Because of her dancing and her kindly nature, Hōpoe was taken by the goddess Hiʻiaka as a favorite friend. When Pele sent Hiʻiaka to Kauaʻi to fetch Lohiʻau, the first request Hiʻiaka made to Pele was to be kind to her friend, Hōpoe. After a time, when Hiʻiaka did not return as expected, Pele in a fit of rage destroyed Hiʻiaka’s grove and the beloved Hōpoe. The latter was changed into a balancing stone that seemed to dance in the sea.]
1271
Ka ʻai lewa i ka ʻāʻī.
The food that swings from the neck.
[Refers to food containers that were carried suspended from poles.]
1319
Kahuku ʻāina lewa.
Kahuku, an unstable land.
[Oʻahu, according to legend, was once two islands that grew together. Kahuku is the part that bridges the gap.]
1656
Ka wai lewa i ka makani.
The water that sways in the breeze.
[The coconut, which contains water and is found in clusters high up in the tree.]
1877
Kuʻi ka pōhaku, ʻanapa ke ahi o ka lewa.
The stones pound; the fire flashes in the sky.
[Thunder and lightning.]
1989
Lewa i ke alahaka o Nuʻalolo.
Swaying on the ladder of Nualolo.
[Lacking security, especially of one who has no home.]
1990
Lewa ka waha o ka puhi o Laumeki.
The mouth of the eel of Laumeki gapes.
[Said of one who talks so much that his mouth is hardly ever closed. Laumeki was an eel-man who lived at Wailau, Molokaʻi. When he saw that Kuʻula’s fishpond at Hāna, Maui, was always full of fish, he decided to assume his eel form and go there to steal some. On one of his thieving expeditions, he was caught by a magic hook and drawn ashore, where his jaw was smashed and left gaping.]
2293
Naueue ka hiʻu o ka iʻa lewa i ke kai.
The tails of thefish that move in the sea tremble.
[Said of fish, such as the hīnālea, in the cold month Welehu. The tails of the hīnālea bend as they seek hollows in the corals for hiding.]