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The earliest Hawaiian word lists

Anderson - 1778    Samwell - 1779    Beresford - 1787    Martinez - 1789    Santeliz es Pablo - 1791    Quimper - 1791    
Lisiansky - 1804    Campbell - 1809    Gaimard/Arago - 1819    Bishop/Ellis - 1825    Botta - 1828    Dumont - 1834    

William Anderson's List
(1778)

The Resolution, with James Cook in command, arrived in Hawaiʻi on January 18, 1778 and left February 2. Acting as naturalist was William Anderson, the ship's surgeon, born in Scotland in 1750, and educated at Edinburgh University. Beaglehole wrote that he "was clearly one of the best minds of all the three voyages — professionally competent, but with an interest in all the departments of natural history as they were known at that time, acute as well as wide-ranging, and with a linguistic talent both eager and careful."

Cook and his crew eventually anchored in Waimea Bay. Anderson had been very ill when they arrived at Kauaʻi, but on January 21 he was sufficiently well to walk with Cook and Webber to a heiau about a mile up the river, where he collected his Hawaiian vocabulary. A little over six months later he died of tuberculosis, and was buried at sea.

adapted from Albert J. Schütz, "Voices of Eden" pp. 34-35.

analyzed and annotated by Albert J. Schütz

click on column heading to sort

num.list wordmodern Hawaiianlist gloss
122.AboboʻapōpōTo-morrow
15.AeeʻāʻīThe neck
107.Aeenooe inuTo drink
130.AhaiaāheaWhen, at what time
197.Aheia? keaA round pearl shell
91.Ahewaitehe wekeMullus cretaceus*
*P-E defines weke as follows: "Certain species of the Mullidae, surmullets or goatfish."
211.Ahoo auraʻahu ʻula [cf red feathers]Red cloth
73.AiʻaeYes
90.Aieeboohe ipuA vessel of gourd shell
95.AivaawaA harbour
71.AoonaiauaneʻiIn a short time; presently
3.Aorre, or Aoeʻaʻole, ʻaʻoe, ʻaʻoheNo
185.Apooavaʻapu ʻawaA shallow wooden dish they drink ava out of
69.AppeʻapeVirginian Arum*
*Now classified as Alocasia macrorrhiza, Xanthosoma robustum
80.Atee*e kiʻi (imperative)To fetch, or bring
*Many of the verbs seem to be given with the imperative marker e. Perhaps this is the simplest citation form. One must remember that this mode of communication was quite new to the Hawaiians.
74.Ateera[? kīlā]*Done; at an end
*Tahitian has tīrārā for ‘C’est fini’ and pau roa for ‘complètement’. Was the Hawaiian form (?) kila crowded out by pau?
51.BooapuaʻaA hog
116.DirrolaloBelow
5.E poo*he poʻoThe head
*This is an example in which we assume that Anderson made a distinction between "oo" and "oo".
34.E Taeeai? kāheaCalling to one
133.Eaha, naihe aha nei?What is this?
160.Eahoiahi (ʻfireʻ)Hire*
*Apparently a misprint for ‘fire’.
142.Eahoiahoihe ahiahiEvening
179.Eappanai? ʻāpane (short for ʻapapane)A plume of feathers they wear
153.Eatooahe akuaA god
209.EeiAt
207.Eeaʻeā₁An adjunct, as at Otaheite, to give strength to an expression
141.Eeapohe pōNight
11.Eeeheuhe ihuThe nose
52.Eeneeoohe niuCocoa nuts
25.EenoʻinoBad
192.EenoʻinoAn adjunct, when they express any thing good, though by itself, it signifies bad. Thus they say, Erawha eeno, good greeting, as the Otaheiteans say, Ehoa eeno, or my good friend
86.Eeoi ʻōThere
96.Eerottoi lokoWithin; into
54.EeteeʻikeTo understand, or know
82.Ehaiai hea?Where
213.Ehateinoahe aha ke inoaWhat is the the name of that?
216.Eheou? pou, ihu*The mast of a canoe
*Ihu ‘prow or bow of a canoe or ship’. However, Anderson’s spelling does not quite confirm this. His ou is usually /au/. The [i] sound, indicated by e, after the h is similar to his transcription of ‘nose’ (#11).
227.Ehetoohe hōkūA star
201.EhonehoniTo salute by applying one nose to the other Ehogge* at New Zealand, and Ehoe at Otaheiti
*Apparently a misprint for the Maori form: Ehonge (hongi).
174.Ehooohou*A gimblet, or any instrument to bore with
*P-E hou₃: ‘push, thrust, poke, stab, ... drill, bore, pierce, inject’ Here, the name seems to represent the function of the instrument, rather than the instrument itself. We can reconstruct the MS spelling as *Ehoōō.
61.Ehoorahe hulaA kind of dance
163.Eonnotaine____A short cloak of black and white feathers
173.EorreʻioleA rat
170.EouʻauTo swim
223.Epaee? pā ____Wooden bowls made from the Etooo*
*Te Rangi Hiroa (1964:47) gave several phrases with pā specified according to function. Perhaps he pâ i’a ‘bowl for serving fish’?
175.Epaoo, or ooapa? e pau, ua pauThere is no more; it is done or finished
165.Epappahe papaA board used to swim upon
169.EpooapoA bracelet of a single shell
177.Erahoi, dehoihe lahiThin; as thin cloth, board, &c.
14.Erawha____Tears of joy
64.EroemyE _____ maiFetch it here
40.Erooie luaʻiTo retch, to puke
22.Eroui____Wait a little
68.Eteehe kīDracaena*
*Now classified as Cordyline terminalis.
148.Eteepappahe kīpapa*The inside of a burying-ground
*‘Stone pavement’. Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:522.
138.Etooe kūTo rise up
186.Etoohe, toohee? kui*A particular sort of cloth
*Brigham 1911:217. Add to #186. "Kui to beat; also a needle. Kuina (kui and ana uniting) a set of kapa moe, sewed together at one side, usually five sheets of which the uppermost is decorated and called kilohana; a seam."
180.Etooohe koaThe Cordia sebes tina*
*Cordia sebastina is the correct spelling.
110.Eunai____ nei, neʻiHere; at this place
87.Evaahe waʻaA canoe
94.Evyhe waiFresh water
126.Ewououttehe waukeMorua Papyris*
*Now classified as Broussonetia papyrifera.
120.Hai, raahe lāThe sun
10.Haieeahe iʻaFish
102.Haieehehe iheA barbed dart
121.Hairaneehe laniThe sky
13.HaireheleTo go
139.Hairetoohele akuTo go there
105.Hamoea? he moea*A ceremony of clapping the hands to the head, and prostrating themselves to the chief
*The most common meanin of moe is ‘sleep, lie down", but P-E also lists ‘to prostrate oneself, as before a chief, and for moea, passive/imperative of moe.
149.HarrehaleA house
150.Harre pahoohale pahu*A drum-house in a burying-ground
*BIII(1):271
4.He oho*he ohoThe hair
*Note that the majority of nouns occur with he. In a sense, each phrase is a discourse, and new information is introduced as such. (Hawkins 1979, article on he and ke/ka).
37.He, aieereehe ʻiliThe skin
21.He, wawyhe wāwaeThe leg
123.Heahohe aho (line, cord)A small rope
152.Heho*____A stone set up in a burying-ground consecrated to the Deity
*Cook wrote hoho; the word is unidentified (Anthropology Club of Kaua’i Community College 1978:4).
157.Hemanaahe mana (ʻtaboo house in a heiauʻ)*A house, or hut, where they bury their dead
*Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:571: ‘temple house’
146.Henananoohe ʻanuʻu*A square pile of wicker work, or religious obelisk
*BIII(1):270n. gives ananu’u / lananu’u P-E has only the form with l-.
212.Henarohe naloA fly
225.Henaroohe naluThe swell of the sea
151.Heneenehe niniA wall, the wall of a burying-ground
206.Heneeoohe? he niuhi (ʻlarge grey man-eating sharkʻ)An instrument made of a shark’s tooth fixed on a wooden handle, to cut with
195.Heno____Little rods, about five feet long, with a tuft of hair on the small end
18.Heoohe ūThe nipple
183.Heoreeoreehe olioliA song
167.Heorro tairehe olokele (ʻbee-eater, honeycreeperʻ)A small scarlet bird, or merops scarlatina*
*Defined as the same as the ‘i’iwi (Vestiaria coccinea)
172.Heoudoo? he uku (ʻrepay, exchangeʻ)A refusal; I will not do it, or take that for this
7.Heraeehe laeThe forehead
145.Herairemyhe leleA place on which fruit is laid as an offering to God
156.Hereanee____Small twig things in a burying-ground
147.Hereeere____A burying-ground
112.Hereemahe limuA species of Sida
158.Herooanoohe luanuʻu (ʻdressed out in tapa,as temple images in Lonoʻs temple on important occasionsʻ)Wooden images in a burying house
217.Hetoahe koa (ʻacacia ... valuable lumber tree, formerly used for canoesʻ)The yard of a sail
75.Hevaite? weke ʻto open a crack, as a door; to separate, loosen, freeTo unfold
214.Heweereweerehe wiliwili (ʻleguminous tree, Erythrina sandwicensis ... wood is very light and formerly was used for surfboards, canoe outriggers, net floatsʻ)An outrigger of a canoe
140.Hoatoohō akuTo give
32.Hoehoʻi (ʻgo backʻ)To go
63.hoemy; harremyhoʻi mai (ʻcome backʻ); hele mai (ʻcomeʻ)To come
190.Homyhō maiGive me
219.Hono? hō nōTo go; to move
33.HooarraʻualaSweet potatoes
20.HoohaaʻūhāThe thigh
103.Hooroo manoohulu manuBirds feathers
26.Hootee, hooteehukihuki (ʻpull hard or frequentlyʻ)To pluck up, or out
38.Ma, ty, tymākaʻikaʻiTo look at, or survey a thing
42.Maa monamomona (ʻsweetʻ)Sweet or savoury food
118.Madooa, waheinemakuawahineMother
134.MaeeamaiʻaPlantains
2.Mahaiama hea? (generally)Where [ditto]
189.MaheinewahineA wife
204.MangomanōA shark
115.ManoomanuA bird
84.MaomaʻōThat way
56.MaonnamāʻonaFull, satisfied with eating
194.Maooamāua (ʻweʻ, dual excl.)I, first person singular
228.Maramamalama (ʻlight, monthʻ)The moon
85.Mareirama lailaThis place
62.MaromaloA narrow stripe of cloth they wear
137.MataneemakaniThe wind
44.Matoumākou (first person plural exclusive)I, first person singular
176.MatoumakauA particular sort of fish-hook
220.MatoumakaʻuFear
8.MattamakaThe eye
70.MattemakeDead
215.Mawaihepāwehe* (design pattern)The sail of a canoe*
*Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:282: "... details concerning the mast and the sail are scanty."
*Holmes (1981:53) quoted Emerson (n.d.): "the fashion of La [lā] that prevailed on Kauai ... apears to have been ... different from anything found elsewhere ...[it] was braided in a variegated pattern, called pawehe [pāwehe], red, black, and white makaloa."
81.MeememimiTo make water
113.Meere, meeremilimiliTo look at, or behold
114.MoamoaA fowl
117.Modooa, tannemakuakāneFather
127.MoemoeTo sleep
191.Moena, or moengamoenaA mat to sleep on
99.MotoomokuTo tear, or break
104.MotoomokuAn island
226.MotoomokuLand
202.Mymaʻi (ʻsicknessʻ)A sore of any kind
89.My ty? mākaʻi*Let me look
*Is this related to entry 38 [ma,ty,ty]? P-E has for māka’ika’i (among other glosses) ‘see the sights, look upon’.
45.My, tymaikaʻiGood
24.MyaomaiʻaoFinger and toe nails
119.Naiwe, nawie? [newe-newe] nahenahe ____Pleasant; agreeable
30.NannanānāLet me see it
31.NohonohoTo sit
155.NonenoniMorinda citrifolia
128.NooenuiLarge
76.Noonanuna/lunaAbove
182.OeeaʻoiaYes; it is so
224.OheʻoheBamboo
166.Oneete____A kind of cloth
53.Ono____To understand
218.OoamouʻōmauFast; secure; sound; whole
50.OoheuhiYams
17.Ooma oomaumaumaThe breast
12.Oome oomeʻumiʻumiThe beard
48.Oome*ʻumiA great number
*I suggest that ‘umi, now ‘ten’, once meant ‘a great number’. Cf. Geraghty’s similar meaning for Fijian tini.]
143.Ooraʻula (ʻredʻ)Red feathers
67.OorooʻuluBread fruit
187.Ootee, or Otee, oteeʻoki, ʻokiʻokiTo cut
200.OotooʻukuA louse
92.Opoore? ʻōpule*Sparus parvus punctatus
*The scientific names don’t match. In modern dictionaries, the varieties of ‘ōpule are labelled Anampses.
55.Otae____A man’s name
46.OtaeaioʻO Kaʻeo*Names of two chiefs
*Hereditary high chief of Kaua’i (Speakman and Hackler 1989:36; Kuykendall 1957:22).
29.Otooma heeva____A man’s name
164.Ottahoinoo*____One article, or thing
*Is kahi ‘one’ part of this word?
109.OuauI, first person singular
229.Ouameeta____A man’s name
203.Oura, or ouraaolaCured; recovered; alive; well
97.Owyte ereeʻo wai ke aliʻi?What is the chief’s name
57.Owytooehainoaʻo wai kou inoa?What is your name?
72.PahapahaPerhaps
60.PahoopahuA drum
208.Paoo roapau loa (ʻall, everythingʻ)Quite done; finished
188.Pappaneeheomano? papa nihi o manōA wooden instrument beset with sharks teeth, used to cut up those they kill
9.PappareengapapālinaThe cheek
184.Paraoo? pā lāʻau₂A wooden bowl
135.ParrapalaRipe; as, ripe fruit
196.PataepaʻakaiSalt
178.Pattahaee, or he roui____A sort of musical instrument or rattle*, ornamented with red feathers
*Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:409: "Cook ... reported having seen only two musical instruments among the Hawaiians, the gourd rattle and a pair of sticks ..." The single rattle is ʻulī’ulī; the triple rattle ‘ūlili.
19.PeetopikoThe navel
6.Pepaiee aoopepeiaoThe ear
49.PoepoiTaro pudding
16.Poheevepoʻohiwi (ʻshoulderʻ)The arm
161.Pohootoo noa? pōhaku hoanaA cream-coloured whet-stone
221.PooapuaAn arrow
78.PoorepuleA prayer
83.PootapukaA hole
162.Poota pairePuʻu Ka Pele*A district at the Western part of the isle
*Bennett (1931:104) mentioned the "Puu Ka Pele crater cone at the edge of Waimea canyon". The name does not appear in the 1973 edition of Atlas of Hawaii, but it is in Mary Kawena Pukui’s ‘Ōlelo No’eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings and Place Names of Hawai’i.
129.PoowhapūhāTo yawn
*NeSmith (ʻĀleka, Keiki Ali'i) uses pūhā for 'yawn' and confirmed the meaning. [?P-E: pūhā (‘belch, clear throat’)]
111.PororeepōloliHunger; hungry
125.Pymypehi maiThrow it here
168.TaakāAn interjection of admiration
193.Taboo, or tafookapuAny thing not to be touched, as being forbid. This is an example that shows the transmutation of the H, F, and B into each other. Thus, at Otaheite yams are oohe, at Tonga oofe, at New Caledonia oobe, and here taboo is tafoo.
93.TaeekaiThe sea
79.TahounakahunaA priest
210.TairakēlāThat; the other
199.Tammata____The sense of taste
58.TanatakanakaA man
154.TangaroaKanaloaThe name of the god of the place we were at
59.TangatakanakaA man [ditto]
65.Taooakāua (first person dual inclusive)We, first person plural
77.Tapaia? kāpae ____To abide; to keep or refrain from going
205.Te and heke, heThe
198.Teanooke anuThe cold arising from being in the water
171.Tearrekiele*Gardenia, or Cape Jasmine
*P-E, citing Neal (pp. 799-800), claimed that the kiele was introduced. It seems instead that it was perhaps an alternate name for nānū, a native species of gardenia.
144.Teehekīhei (ʻrectangular tapa garmentʻ)A present of cloth
36.Teeorrekiola, kīloi [? *kioli]To throw away a thing
222.TeetokīkoʻoA bow
1.Tehaiai hea? (specifically)Where
108.Tehaia, orooahea ʻolua? (dual)Where are you?
28.Teinakaina (ʻyounger sibling of same sexʻ)A younger brother
124.Tereira? ____ lailaThere; that way
47.Terurotoa____Names of two chiefs
100.ToekoʻiA stone adze
136.Toe, toekoʻekoʻeCold
39.Tommomykomo maiCome here
98.ToneoneoKaneoneo*A chief’s name
*BIII(1):282n.
41.TookōSugar cane
27.TooannakuaʻanaA brother
43.Tooharre*kuha__To spit
*The last syllable may be -li, one of a set of suffixes that alter the meaning of the root somewhat. Although according to Elbert and Pukui (1979:86), l is used only in two-syllable suffixes (as in -la’i), its range may have been wider in Anderson’s time.
159.Tooraipe____A kind of headdress, or helmet on an image
132.Tooto? kōkō₂A small straw rope
66.TourakaulaA rope
88.Touroonoa____A man’s name
101.VaheeowaihoLet it lie, or remain
35.WaheinewahineA woman
131.WehaiweheTo uncover and undo a thing
181.WhattehakiTo break
106.WoreroliloLost; stole

REFERENCES

Anderson, William. 1784. Vocabulary of the Language of Atooi, One of the Sandwich Islands. in: Cook 1784, vol. 3, Appendix 5, pp. 549–53. [Collected in 1778.]

"William Anderson's Hawaiian Word List"
by Albert J. Schütz. in: Robert Blust, ed. Currents in Pacific linguistics: papers on Austronesian languages and ethnolinguistics in honour of George W. Grace, 453-464. Pacific Linguistics, C-117, 1991.

Albert J. Schütz. "Dr. William Anderson: Forgotten Philologist"
Chapter 5 of the forthcoming book, Hawaiian: Past, Present, and Future. 2013.

Anthropology Club of Kaua’i Community College. 1977-78. The Bicentennial of the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands by Captain James Cook 1778-1978.
Atlas of Hawaii. 1973.
Beaglehole, John Cawte, ed. 1967. The Journals of Captain James Cook on his Voyage of Discovery. Vol. 3.(BIII)
Brigham, William Tufts. 1911. Ka Hana Tapa: the Making of Bark-cloth in Hawaii.
Bennett. 1931. Archaeology of Kauai
Elbert and Pukui. 1979. Hawaiian Grammar.
Geraghty
Hawkins, Emily A. 1979. A new look at the determiner system in Hawaiian.
Holmes, Tommy.1981. The Hawaiian Canoe.
Kuykendall. 1957
Neal, Marie. 1948. In Gardens of Hawaii.
Pukui. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau. 1983.
Pukui and Elbert. 1971, 1991. Hawaiian Dictionary.
Speakman and Hackler 1989 (JPH)
Te Rangi Hiroa. 1964. Arts and Crafts of Hawaii

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