kā
1. definite singular article replaced by ke before words beginning with a, e, o, and k, and before some words beginning with the glottal stop and p (kaʻaka, the laugh, keʻala, the fragrance; kapā, the yard, kepā, the dish). In documents in the State Archives dating from the 1850s, ke was used also before words beginning with other letters. Ka is sometimes used before nouns that are obviously plural and instead of possessives (see ex., mae). Ka is usually translated ‘the’ except that it is not translated before English mass nouns and status titles, as kahanohano, glory, and keAkua, God. 2. art. The definite article, the. Before nouns beginning with the letter k, it is changed into ke instead of ka. seeke. seeGram. § 59, 60, 61. Ka as an article often represents not only the article but the noun supposed to belong to it, or it may have mea or some other word understood (like, in another sense, the English what, as an antecedent and a relative); as, o ka aila ka (mea) iloko o kona lima, the oil the (thing) which, that which was in his hand. Oihk. 17:11. O ke koko ka (mea) i hana i kalahala, the blood the (thing) it makes atonement; that is, the thing which makes; o ka pono wale no ka i oi mamua o ka hewa, righteousness only is the thing (that which) excels wickedness. Ka also as an article stands for ka mea, and ka mea nana, the person who, or the thing which. see the following passages: John 12:2, 49; Mat. 18:23; Mar. 9:7. see also Grammar, Syntax, Rule 6, Note 3. 3. the one who, the person in question (usually followed by i, completed aspect, and a verb, a shortening of kamea). 4. To strike; to dash; to overthrow. Puk. 15:4. 5. To strike, as to strike fire with flint and steel; ka ahi. seekaka. To block or split off a piece of hard stone for the purpose of making a stone adze in ancient times; o ka poe ka koi ka poe i manao nui ia; hele no ka poe ka koi e imi i na pohaku paa e pono ai ke hana i koi; ka makau, to fabricate a bone into a fish-hook. 6. A striking against; a collision. 7. nvt. • to hit, strike, throw, smite, hack, thrust, toss, fling, hurl, dash, especially with a quick hard stroke;
• to bail water, as from a canoe (kā₂);
• to clean, as weeds or mud from a pond;
• to fling the arms or swing them while walking;
• to make net meshes;
• to tie, as thatch battens;
• to knit;
• to fish with a pole;
• to turn the soil;
• to turn a rope for children to jump;
• to remove, as a cataract from the eye with the edge of a blade of kūkae puaʻa grass;
• to snare, as birds;
• to curse (especially if used with ʻino; cf.kāmalū, to do evil to another in secret; to forbid, warn in secret...);
• to murder; murderous; murderer, dead shot.
For kā i ka waha, see waha. 8. v. To bail water, as from a canoe; e ka oe i ka liu. 9. s. A dish to bail water with. 10. nvt. canoe bailer; to bail. 11. n. beater, knee-drum beater made of dried ti leaves or braided fiber. 12. n. cross-stitching. 13. A vine, the branches of which spread and run. 14. n.v. vine, as of sweet potato; to send out a vine, to vine, to grow into a vine. 15. nvi. root cutting, as of breadfruit; to send forth shoots. 16. n. pelvic bone. 17. n. incoming, of a current (au). 18. n. container, hanger. 19. int. An exclamation of surprise, wonder, disappointment or disgust; also, similar to hark, hush; often repeated. seekahaha. 20. in different parts of a sentence, contains something like an assertion with disapprobation; used also on the discovery of a mistake. 1 Sam. 28:12. It is used on expressing opposition of sentiment. Puk. 32:17. After a verb it implies oblique absurdity, something unaccountable. Luke 23:35. When the contrary takes place from what was expected or attempted. Isa. 14:14, 15. He kau malie ka la, o ka honua ka ke kaa nei! it is the sun is it that stands still, the earth forsooth, that rolls! Ka contains the idea of some supposed error, or something wrongly done or thought. Oih. 11:3. 21. interj. of mild disapproval, annoyance, or surprise. Oh! So! Goodness! So that's it! Is that so! (If spoken alone it is frequently pronounced Chā! or Sah!) 22. prep. Having the general sense, of; belonging to; it marks the relation of possession and is used before nouns and pronouns; it is similar in meaning to the preposition a, but used in a different part of the sentence. see Grammar § 105, 4. Ka (also ko) before nouns is similar in meaning to the apostrophic s in English, and signifies the thing or the things belonging to those nouns; as, ka ke alii, belonging to the chief; ka laua, that of them two. see Grammar § 105, 4. 23. poss. of, belonging to (a-class), as in the possessives kā kākou, our (inclusive), kā mākou, our (exclusive); kā ka haumana puke, the student's book. 24. n. czar. 25. n. tar. alsotā. 26. n. tar, asphalt. 27. in the beginning of a speech is used to call attention; 28. To finish or end a thing; to rest; to escape from pursuit; to flee away; ua ka ilaila kuu po auhee; 29. To radiate; to go out from the center, as light from the sun; as cinders from a red hot iron; to braid or knit, as a fish net (o ka poe ka upena) from a center point; 30. To go out every way, as from a center. Kin. 3:24. seekaa; 31. To curse; to express anger at one by wishing evil from God; a low kind of swearing; 32. To doom; to pass sentence; ka ola, ka make, to doom to life, to doom to death (according to the pleasure of the gods.); 33. To catch birds in a snare. 34. Hoo. To destroy; cause to perish; 35. To be disappointed; put to confusion; to be made ashamed; 36. A nolaila e aho hoi ke ka i ka nele lua. Laieik. 197;
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4
A aloha wale ʻia kā hoʻi o Kaunuohua, he puʻu wale nō.
Even Kaunuohua, a hill, is loved.
[If a hill can be loved, how much more so a human?]
156
ʻAʻohe kā he lohe o ko pepeiao huluhulu?
Don’t your hairy ears hear?
[Said in annoyance or disgust for disobedience or heedlessness. The ears are too full of fuzz to let sounds enter.]
166
ʻAʻohe komo o kā haʻi puaʻa ke paʻa i ka pā.
Other people’s pigs would not come in if the fence were kept in good repair.
[Be prepared always, and you’ll find yourself free of trouble. Also, evil influence cannot enter when one keeps his own mental realm fortified from within.]
167
ʻAʻohe laka o kā haʻi ʻīlio.
Other people’s dogs do not mind you.
[Said as a warning to beware of the gods of others.]
264
E ao, o kā i ka waha.
Watch out lest it smite the mouth.
[A warning not to be too free in using rude and insulting words toward others lest someday one must take them back. Also, things said of others may happen to the person who says them.]
313
E kā i ka pōhuehue.
Smite with the pōhuehue.
[Do harm to another in order to destroy him.]
321
E kipi ana lākou nei. ʻAʻole naʻe ʻo lākou ponoʻī akā ʻo kā lākou mau keiki me nā moʻopuna. ʻO ke aliʻi e ola ana i ia wā e kū ʻōlohelohe ana ia, a ʻo ke aupuni e kūkulu ʻia aku ana, ʻo ia ke aupuni paʻa o Hawaiʻi nei.
These people [the missionaries] are going to rebel; not they themselves, but their children and grandchildren. The ruler at that time will be stripped of power, and the government established then will be the permanent government of Hawaiʻi.
[Prophesied by David Malo.]
327
E lauhoe mai nā waʻa; i ke kā, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke kā; pae aku i ka ʻāina.
Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore is reached.
[Pitch in with a will, everybody, and the work is quickly done.]
461
Hana mai nō a kā mai nō i ka ʻino.
He does for us, then he strikes us with evil.
[Said of a kahuna who helps to heal and then, annoyed with the patient or patient’s family, asks the ʻaumakua to return the sickness.]
605
He iʻa kokoke kā ka lawaiʻa.
A fisherman always finds fish nearby.
[Said of one who can get what he wants because he is smart.]
680
He kā waiho hoʻohemahema.
A bail left unnoticed.
[Said of one who could be of help because of his skill and knowledge but is overlooked, like an unused canoe bail.]
707
He kūkae kā ke kahu hānai.
Excrement belongs to foster parents.
[Said in anger when a foster child shows ingratitude or when his own parents take him away from those who reared him.]
769
He loko kapu ia, he awa ka iʻa noho; eia kā ua komo ʻia e ke ʻā kōkokī.
It was a pond reserved only for awa fish, but now a bait-stealing ʻā fish has gotten into it.
[A woman who is the wife of a fine man of chiefly rank is now having an affair with a worthless scamp.]
862
He ʻolina leo kā ke aloha.
A joyousness is in the voice of love.
[Love speaks in a gentle and joyous voice, not in harshness or gruffness.]
1348
Ka iʻa kā kēhau o ka ʻāina.
The dew-dislodging fish of the land.
[The ʻūhini, a locust (now extinct) that was caught in the morning while the dew was still on the shrubbery. They were strung on the stems of grass blossoms, broiled and eaten.]
1352
Ka iʻa kā wāwae o Hīlia.
The fish of Hīlia, kicked by the feet.
[Mullet. Hīlia is a place on Molokaʻi where mullet often come in schools near the shore. The people, wading into the water, would kick the fish ashore where others would pick them up.]
1353
Ka iʻa kā welelau o ke ahi.
The fish that lies on the top edge of the fire.
[The ʻoʻopu, wrapped in ti leaves and laid on the hot coals.]
1390
Kā i ka ʻai ka ʻaihue.
A thief is hurt in his thievery.
[Theft is accompanied by fear.]
1392
Kā i ka ʻino.
To smite with evil.
1393
Kā i kaʻino, no ka ʻino.
To return evil for evil.
1396
Kā i ka waha.
Struck the mouth.
[Having criticized or spoken unkindly of others, the things he said happened to him.]
1398
Kā i ke kino.
Smites the body.
[Said of the evil done to others that rebounds and hurts the person who started it.]
1407
Kaino he koa no ka lā nui, he koa kā no ka lā iki.
[I thought] you were warriors worthy of a great day, but instead you are warriors of a short day.
[Said of those who flee in cowardice.]
1408
Kaino paha he pali nui o Kīpū e ʻōlelo ia nei, eia kā he pali iki nō.
By the way it is talked about, one would think that Kīpū is a large cliff, but instead it is only a small one.
[By the way people talked the task sounded difficult, but it was easy after all. Kīpū is on Kauaʻi.]
1417
Kā! Ke lele mai nei ka pāoʻo.
Ha! The pāoʻo fish is leaping about.
[A remark made about one who snuffles and does not blow his nose. The mucus of a runny nose darts in and out of the nostril like a pāoʻo fish in its sea pool.]
1442
Ka limu kā kanaka o Manuʻakepa.
The man-throwing algae of Manuakepa.
[Hanalei, Kauaʻi, was known for its pouring rain. A slippery algae grows among the grasses on the beach, and when carelessly stepped on, it can cause one to slip and fall. This algae is famed in songs and chants of that locality.]
1462
Ka makani kā ʻAhaʻaha laʻi o Niua.
The peaceful ʻAhaʻaha breeze of Niua that drives in the ʻahaʻaha fish.
[The ʻAhaʻaha breeze begins as the Kiliʻoʻopu in Waiheʻe, Maui, before reaching Niua Point in Waiehu. It is a gentle breeze and the sea is calm when it blows. Fishermen launch their canoes and go forth to fish, for that is the time when the ʻahaʻaha fish arrive in schools.]
1723
Ke kai kā ʻanae o Keʻehi.
The mullet-driving sea of Keʻehi.
[When mullet came into Keʻehi they came in such great schools that children could drive the fish up to the sand by striking the water with their hands or with the vines that grow on the beach.]
2159
Moʻa aʻela nō kā ka ʻalae huapī.
The red-headed mudhen has finished cooking her own.
[Said of a selfish person who does only for himself with no regard for others. A play on pī (stingy) in huapī. From the legend of Māui.]
2197
Muʻu mōkākī ka lau lāʻau, he makani kā.
The leaves lie strewn about in a pelting gale.
[The remnants of a violent burst of temper.]
2441
ʻO kau aku, ʻo kā ia lā mai, pēlā ka nohona o ka ʻohana.
From you and from him — so lived the family.
[The farmer gave to the fisherman, the fisherman to the farmer.]
2448
ʻO ke aka kā ʻoukou ʻo ka ʻiʻo kā mākou.
Yours the shadow; ours the flesh.
[A phrase used in prayers dedicating a feast to the gods. The essence of the food was the gods’, and the meat was eaten by those present.]
2475
"O kū, o kā," ʻo Wahineʻomaʻo.
“Kū and kā,” says Wahineʻomaʻo.
[While walking toward Hilo one day, Hiʻiaka met Wahineʻomaʻo shivering by the roadside with a pig in her arms — a gift for Pele. Hiʻiaka suggested that she start walking to Kīlauea chanting, “O kū! O kā!” Before long Wahineʻomaʻo had reached the volcano, given her offering, and returned to meet Hiʻiaka, whom she followed on the long journey to Kauaʻi. “O kū! ʻO kā!” cannot be translated. However, any work done hurriedly might be referred to this way, meaning “with a lick and a promise.”]
2519
ʻOnea Kaupō, ua kā ka ʻai i ka lua.
Barren is Kaupō; the eating in the cavern has begun.
[Fatal shark attacks were common at Kaupō at one time. As a result, the people moved elsewhere, after which a man-eating shark peered at Kaupō and said these words. The spot from which he watched was named Kiʻei (Peer). Later used to mean destitution.]
2553
Paʻa aku i ka lani o kā ke akua ia, a hāʻule mai i lalo o kā Laiana ia.
What is held up in heaven is Godʻs, and what falls below is Lyonsʻs.
[A reply made by the Reverend Lorenzo Lyons (Makua Laiana) when he was charged with being careless in accepting people as members of his church. He loved and accepted them and did not adhere rigidly to certain rules before allowing them to become members.]
2606
Pau kā ʻoe hana, pio kā ʻoe ahi, pala kā ʻoe ʻāhui.
Your work is done, your fire is extinguished, your [banana] bunch has ripened.
[Said by Kahekili, chief of Maui, after he defeated Peleioholani of Oʻahu. Used with relief and gladness that a person has died. Common in old newspapers.]
2794
Ua ʻike nō kā he hewa ke wikiwiki lā ka waha i ka mihi.
He knows it is wrong so the mouth hastens to repent.
[Said of one who is caught in wrong-doing and quickly begs pardon to avoid due punishment.]