updated: 5/27/2020

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ʻŌlelo Noʻeau - Concordance

lau

lau
1. nvi. leaf, frond, leaflet, greens; to leaf out. lau is sometimes contracted to lā-, as lāʻī, lāʻie, lāʻō.
2. To spread out; to be broad, as a leaf.
3. The leaf of a tree or plant green or dry. Oihk. 26:36. An herb; lau mulemule, bitter herbs.
4. n. dragnet, seine, so called because formerly made of ti leaves (lau) tied to a rope.
5. n. sheet; surface; blade, as of grass.
6. num. to be much, many; very many, numerous; four hundred. [traditional 4-based counting: kāuna 4; kaʻau 40; lau 400; mano 4,000; kini 40,000; lehu 400,000]
7. To be numerous or many. see the noun. Ma keia kula panoa kanaka ole, lau kanaka ai, in this dry uninhabited place there are now many people.
8. s. The number 400.
9. n. pattern, as for quilts; design; print of a cloth.
10. n. thatched mountain hut, as used by farmers, canoe-makers, birdcatchers.
11. n. tip, as of the tongue; top (probably related to wēlau and ʻēlau, tip).
12. The end of a pointed substance. syn. with elau or welau. Lau alelo, the tip of the tongue.
13. n. sweet-potato slip or vine.
14. v. To feel after a thing;
15. The face of a person, like helehelena; lau kanaka, persons; where persons live; lau kanaka ole, solitary. see laukanaka. Lau makani, a stray puff of wind.

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168ʻAʻohe lau komo ʻole.Any leaf goes in.
 [Said of one who does not care whether food is clean or unclean, as long as it suppresses hunger.]
247ʻAwapuhi lau pala wale.Ginger leaves yellow quickly.
 [Said of a weakling who withers easily, or of anything that passes too soon.]
446Hana a lau a lau ke aho, a laila loaʻa ka iʻa kāpapa o ka moana.Make four hundred times four hundred fish lines before planning to go after the fighting fish of the sea.
 [Be well prepared for a big project.]
475Hao ka Inuwai, maloʻo ka lau lāʻau.The Inuwai breeze blew, withering the leaves of the trees.
 [Along he came and nothing was left. The Inuwai (Drink-water) breeze is very drying.]
723He lau maiʻa pala ka wahine, hou aku nō ʻoe, pōhae.A woman is like a yellowed banana leaf that tears when one pokes at it.
 [A woman does not have the strength of a man.]
1023Hoʻi akula kaʻōpua i ke awa lau o Puʻuloa.The horizon cloud has gone back to the lochs of Puuloa.
 [He has gone home to stay, like the horizon clouds that settle in their customary places.]
1053Holu ka pua o ka mauʻu, kapalili ka lau o ka lāʻau, māewa ka lau o ke ʻuki.The grass blossoms sway, the leaves on the trees flutter, the leaves of the ʻuki grass wave to and fro.
 [Said of speed in traveling. The traveler went so fast he was like a passing gust of wind that caused the leaves to sway or flutter.]
1137Huli ka lau o ka ʻamaʻu i uka, nui ka wai o kahawai.When the leaves of the ʻamaʻu turn toward the upland, it is a sign of a flood.
 [When the wind blows the leaves of the ʻamau fern so that they bend toward the mountains it is also blowing clouds inland, which will produce rain.]
1290Ka hala lau kalakala o Wakiu.The thorny-leaved hala tree of Wakiu.
 [A boast about one who is not to be tampered with.]
1312Kahilihili lau ʻilima.A brushing off with ʻilima leaves.
 [After leaping into dirt at Kaumaea, Kaʻū, the players wiped off the dust that adhered to their skin with ʻilima branches before going to Paiahaʻa to surf. Later applied to one who takes a sketchy bath.]
1333Ka iʻa hāwanawana i ka wāwae, a ʻōlelo i ka lau o ka lima.The fish that whispers to the feet and speaks to the tips of the fingers.
 [The mahamoe, found in the sand. It is felt under the feet and picked up by the fingers.]
1360Ka iʻa lau nui o ka ʻāina.Big-leaved fish of the land.
 [Lūʻau, or taro greens.]
1434Ka lau ʻoliwa a ke aloha.The olive leaf of love.
 [A gift, kindly given. From the story of Noah’s Ark.]
1451Ka Maʻaʻa wehe lau niu o Lele.The Maʻaʻa wind that lifts the coco leaves of Lele.
 [Lele is the old name for Lahaina, Maui.]
1453Ka maile lau liʻi o Koʻiahi.The fine-leaved maile of Koʻiahi.
 [Koʻiahi, Oʻahu, was famed in old chants for the finest and most fragrant small-leaved maile in the islands. It was destroyed by introduced animals.]
1457Ka makani haʻihaʻi lau hau o Olowalu.The hau-leaf tearing wind of Olowalu.
 [A gusty wind.]
1469Ka makani wehe lau niu o Laupāhoehoe.The coconut-leaf-lifting wind of Laupāhoehoe.
 [Laupāhoehoe, Hawai’i.]
1686Ke awa lau o Puʻuloa.The many-harbored sea of Puuloa.
 [Puʻuloa is an early name for Pearl Harbor.]
1803Kino lau.Many bodied.
 [Said of a god who was able to assume other forms, such as plant, animal, fish, or human, at will. Pele is referred to as akua kino lau because of her ability to change into a child, a beautiful maiden, a plain matron, or a very old woman.]
1889Kū ka lau lama.Many torches stand.
 [There are many lighted bonfires, a signal of joy and victory.]
1951Lau ʻauʻa.Much held back.
 [She ignored the bait. She had a chance to get him for a husband, but she let her opportunity slip by.]
1954Lau koaiʻe.Koaiʻe leaves.
 [Said of anything found only in the upland, like the leaves of the koaiʻe tree.]
2029Lū ka makani, mōkākī ka lau lāʻau.When the wind shakes the trees, the leaves are scattered.
 [Said of a wrathful person who causes everyone to flee from him.]
2075Maile lau liʻi o Koʻiahi.Fine-leaved maile of Koʻiahi.
 [Often used in chants. The fine-leaved maile of Koʻiahi, in Waiʻanae, was considered the best on Oʻahu for beauty and fragrance. After the introduction of goats this beautiful and much-liked vine vanished.]
2153Me he lau nō ke Koʻolau ke aloha.Love is like the ends [fingertips] of the Koʻolau breeze.
 [Love is like a zephyr — gentle and invisible but present nevertheless.]
2166Moe i ka lau o ka lihilihi.The sleep on the tip of the eyelashes.
 [A very light sleep.]
2197Muʻu mōkākī ka lau lāʻau, he makani kā.The leaves lie strewn about in a pelting gale.
 [The remnants of a violent burst of temper.]
2240Nakeke ka ua i ka lau o ka niu.Rain patters on the coconut leaves.
 [Said of idle talk.]
2379ʻOhuʻohu Halemano i ka lau lehua.Bedecked is Halemano with lehua leaves.
 [An expression of admiration for a good-looking person.]
2404ʻO ka hāʻule nehe o ka lau lāʻau, he hāwanawana ia i ka poʻe ola.The rustling of falling leaves is like a whisper to the living.
 [It is the living who appreciate such things.]
2483ʻOla i ke ahe lau makani.There is life in a gentle breath of wind.
 [Said when a warm day is relieved by a breeze.]
2609Pau ke aho i ke kahawai lau o Hilo.Oneʻs strength is exhausted in crossing the many streams of Hilo.
 [Said of or by one who is weary with effort. First uttered by Hiʻiaka in a chant when she found herself weary after a battle with the lizard god Panaʻewa.]
2618Pau pulu, ʻaʻohe lau kanu.Gone, mulch and all; with not even a sweet-potato slip to plant.
 [Utter destruction, with nothing left for a new start.]
2744Puna, ʻāina ʻawa lau o ka manu.Puna, land of the leafed ʻawa planted by the birds.
2859Uhiuhi lau māmane ka wai o Kapāpala.Covered with māmane leaves is the water of Kapāpala.
 [The stream in Kapāpala, Kaʻū, often becomes very muddy. The people used to place māmane branches in the water to help the mud settle so that some drinking water could be obtained. This saying applies to a person who tries to cover up the wrongdoings of another.]
2903Wai ʻapu lau kī.Water in a ti-leaf cup.
 [When one goes to the upland and needs a cup to dip water from the stream or spring, he folds a ti leaf to form a dipper.]

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