2. v. To be good; to be right; to be just; to be morally upright. 3. To do good; to bless; to be for the comfort or convenience of one. 4. To be well, i. e., in bodily health. 5. Hoo. To justify one suspected of wrong; to clear or acquit, as an accused person. seeapono. 6. To avenge an injured person. 7. s. Goodness; uprightness; moral good; rectitude of conduct. 8. That which is right or excellent; abstract, righteousness; excellency. 9. Duty; obligation; authority. Mark 11:28, 29, 33. NOTE.—The Hawaiians now speak of the pono kahiko and the pono hou by way of comparison and also of contrast. 10. adj. Good; right; lawful; acceptable; beautiful; nani. 11. Possible; able; proper; fit; wa pono, a proper time. 12. vs. completely, properly, rightly, well, exactly, carefully, satisfactorily, much (an intensifier). 13. adv. Is used in various senses. 14. As qualifying verbs, and signifies, well; rightly; truly; properly, &c. 15. It is used as an intensive of the preceding verb; as, haka pono, to look at earnestly; ku pono, to stand opposite to. 16. n. property, resources, assets, fortune, belongings, equipment, household goods, furniture, gear of any kind, possessions, accessories, necessities. 17. n. equipment. 18. n. use, purpose, plan. 19. To use, as money; to trade. NOTE.—Pono is frequently used impersonally and also as a helping verb before an infinitive, and signifies, it is right; it is proper; it ought; it may; it is worthy, &c. The form e pono ai or i pono ai is used very frequently; the word expressing the thing causing the favor or good or benefit, going before. O ka naauao ka mea e pono ai ke aupuni, knowledge is a thing to bless a kingdom. 20. n. hope. 21. vs. careless, informal, improper, any kind of. (preceding a stem). 22. should, ought, must, necessary... 23. To ordain; to appoint.
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71
Aia nō ka pono — o ka hoʻohuli i ka lima i lalo, ʻaʻole o ka hoʻohuli i luna.
That is what it should be — to turn the hands palms down, not palms up.
[No one can work with the palms of his hands turned up. When a person is always busy, he is said to keep his palms down.]
97
A ka lae o Kalaʻau, pau ka pono o Kakina.
After Kalaʻau Point is passed, the virtues taught by Thurston end.
[So sang a girl after leaving Thurston’s missionary school. After sailing past Molokaʻi on her way home to Honolulu, she resolved to forget his teachings and have her fling. Used today to refer to anything that will not work or cannot be used.]
325
E kuhikuhi pono i nā au iki a me nā au nui o ka ʻike.
Instruct well in the little and the large currents of knowledge.
[In teaching, do it well; the small details are as important as the large ones.]
355
E naʻi wale nō ʻoukou i koʻu pono, ʻaʻole e pau.
You can seek out all the benefits I have produced and find them without number.
[Said by Kamehameha I when he was dying.]
384
E waikahi ka pono i mānalo.
It is well to be united in thought that all may have peace.
417
Haki kākala o Piʻilani, ʻike pono ʻo luna iā lalo.
Roughness breaks in Piʻilani, those above recognize those below.
[A storm breaks loose and those above — rain, lightning, thunder, wind — show their effects to the people below.]
553
He aupuni palapala koʻu; ʻo ke kanaka pono ʻo ia koʻu kanaka.
Mine is the kingdom of education; the righteous man is my man.
[Uttered by Kamehameha III.]
620
He ʻike ʻana ia i ka pono.
It is a recognizing of the right thing.
[One has seen the right thing to do and has done it.]
912
He pono ka pākiko ma mua o ka hoʻokelakela wale aku.
Better to be economical than too liberal.
1042
Hoʻi no ka pono i ka makua.
Returns to the parent for benefts.
[Said of a grown person who returns to his parents for support or help, thus becoming a dependent once again.]
1184
I ka moana nō ka iʻa, liuliu ʻia nā pono lawaiʻa.
While the fish is still in the sea, get your gear ready.
[Be prepared.]
1195
I ka pono kau i nā waha, mai noho a pehi wale aku.
Those who put into the mouth need not throw stones.
[The mouths that eat the food should never revile the producers.]
1234
I mānai kau, i pua hoʻi kaʻu, kui ʻia ka makemake a lawa pono.
Yours the lei-making needle, mine the flowers; so let us do as we wish [— make a complete lei].
[You, the man and I, the woman; let us satisfy the demands of love. Said by Hiʻiaka in a chant as she embraced Lohiʻau at the rim of Kīlauea to rouse the jealous wrath of her sister Pele.]
1444
Kālina ka pono, ʻaʻohe hua o ka puʻe, aia ka hua i ka lālā.
The potato hill is bare of tubers for the plant no longer bears; it is the vines that are now bearing.
[The mother is no longer bearing, but her children are.]
2018
Loaʻa pono ka ʻiole i ka pūnana.
The rat was caught right in the nest
[The fellow was caught red-handed.]
2226
Na ka ʻīlio ka nānā pono.
Only dogs stare.
[Said to a person who stares.]
2437
ʻO ka pono ke hana ʻia a iho mai nā lani.
Continue to do good until the heavens come down to you.
[Blessings come to those who persist in doing good.]
2438
ʻO ka pono o kahi aliʻi o ka mikimiki me ka ʻeleu.
The thing to do at the court of the chief is to do work and do it effciently.
[Those who serve their chiefs must do their work quickly and well.]
2653
Pili pono ka lā i Kamananui.
The sun is very close to Kamananui.
[A play on Ka-mana-nui (The-great-power). When the person in power becomes angry, everyone around him feels uncomfortable, as in the scorching, blistering sun.]
2654
Pili pono ka lā i Papaʻenaʻena.
The sun concentrates its heat at Papaʻenaʻena.
[Said of the heat of temper. A play on ʻenaena (red-hot).]
2681
Poho pono nā peʻa heke a kū ana.
A well-filled topsail helped him to arrive.
[Said of a fast traveler.]
2813
Ua lawa pono nā poʻohiwi.
The shoulders are well supplied.
[Said of a strong person who can do any kind of hard work.]
2829
Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.
The life of the land is preserved in righteousness.