updated: 2/27/2026
Hawaiian-English      concordance      English-Hawaiian      
introduction    counts    index    reverse index    references    topical    texts

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
14.Erawha____Tears of joy
22.Eroui____Wait a little
29.Otooma heeva____A man’s name
47.Terurotoa____Names of two chiefs
53.Ono____To understand
55.Otae____A man’s name
88.Touroonoa____A man’s name
147.Hereeere____A burying-ground
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).
156.Hereanee____Small twig things in a burying-ground
159.Tooraipe____A kind of headdress, or helmet on an image
163.Eonnotaine____A short cloak of black and white feathers
164.Ottahoinoo*____One article, or thing
*Is kahi ‘one’ part of this word?
166.Oneete____A kind of cloth
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.
195.Heno____Little rods, about five feet long, with a tuft of hair on the small end
199.Tammata____The sense of taste
229.Ouameeta____A man’s name
73.AiʻaeYes
133.Eaha, naihe aha nei?What is this?
213.Ehateinoahe aha ke inoaWhat is the the name of that?
130.AhaiaāheaWhen, at what time
160.Eahoiahi (ʻfireʻ)Hire*
*Apparently a misprint for ‘fire’.
142.Eahoiahoihe ahiahiEvening
123.Heahohe aho (line, cord)A small rope
211.Ahoo auraʻahu ʻula [cf red feathers]Red cloth
15.AeeʻāʻīThe neck
153.Eatooahe akuaA god
198.Teanooke anuThe cold arising from being in the water
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-.
3.Aorre, or Aoeʻaʻole, ʻaʻoe, ʻaʻoheNo
179.Eappanai? ʻāpane (short for ʻapapane)A plume of feathers they wear
69.AppeʻapeVirginian Arum*
*Now classified as Alocasia macrorrhiza, Xanthosoma robustum
169.EpooapoA bracelet of a single shell
122.AboboʻapōpōTo-morrow
185.Apooavaʻapu ʻawaA shallow wooden dish they drink ava out of
109.OuauI, first person singular
170.EouʻauTo swim
71.AoonaiauaneʻiIn a short time; presently
95.AivaawaA harbour
207.Eeaʻeā₁An adjunct, as at Otaheite, to give strength to an expression
181.WhattehakiTo break
149.HarrehaleA house
150.Harre pahoohale pahu*A drum-house in a burying-ground
*BIII(1):271
1.Tehaiai hea? (specifically)Where
2.Mahaiama hea? (generally)Where [ditto]
82.Ehaiai hea?Where
108.Tehaia, orooahea ʻolua? (dual)Where are you?
13.HaireheleTo go
139.Hairetoohele akuTo go there
140.Hoatoohō akuTo give
190.Homyhō maiGive me
219.Hono? hō nōTo go; to move
32.Hoehoʻi (ʻgo backʻ)To go
63.hoemy; harremyhoʻi mai (ʻcome backʻ); hele mai (ʻcomeʻ)To come
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.
26.Hootee, hooteehukihuki (ʻpull hard or frequentlyʻ)To pluck up, or out
61.Ehoorahe hulaA kind of dance
103.Hooroo manoohulu manuBirds feathers
209.EeiAt
86.Eeoi ʻōThere
10.Haieeahe iʻaFish
102.Haieehehe iheA barbed dart
11.Eeeheuhe ihuThe nose
54.EeteeʻikeTo understand, or know
37.He, aieereehe ʻiliThe skin
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
107.Aeenooe inuTo drink
173.EorreʻioleA rat
90.Aieeboohe ipuA vessel of gourd shell
168.TaakāAn interjection of admiration
46.OtaeaioʻO Kaʻeo*Names of two chiefs
*Hereditary high chief of Kaua’i (Speakman and Hackler 1989:36; Kuykendall 1957:22).
34.E Taeeai? kāheaCalling to one
79.TahounakahunaA priest
93.TaeekaiThe sea
28.Teinakaina (ʻyounger sibling of same sexʻ)A younger brother
58.TanatakanakaA man
59.TangatakanakaA man [ditto]
154.TangaroaKanaloaThe name of the god of the place we were at
98.ToneoneoKaneoneo*A chief’s name
*BIII(1):282n.
77.Tapaia? kāpae ____To abide; to keep or refrain from going
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.
65.Taooakāua (first person dual inclusive)We, first person plural
66.TourakaulaA rope
205.Te and heke, heThe
197.Aheia? keaA round pearl shell
210.TairakēlāThat; the other
68.Eteehe kīDracaena*
*Now classified as Cordyline terminalis.
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
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.
222.TeetokīkoʻoA bow
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?
36.Teeorrekiola, kīloi [? *kioli]To throw away a thing
148.Eteepappahe kīpapa*The inside of a burying-ground
*‘Stone pavement’. Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:522.
41.TookōSugar cane
180.Etooohe koaThe Cordia sebes tina*
*Cordia sebastina is the correct spelling.
217.Hetoahe koa (ʻacacia ... valuable lumber tree, formerly used for canoesʻ)The yard of a sail
136.Toe, toekoʻekoʻeCold
100.ToekoʻiA stone adze
132.Tooto? kōkō₂A small straw rope
39.Tommomykomo maiCome here
138.Etooe kūTo rise up
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.
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."
120.Hai, raahe lāThe sun
7.Heraeehe laeThe forehead
177.Erahoi, dehoihe lahiThin; as thin cloth, board, &c.
124.Tereira? ____ lailaThere; that way
116.DirrolaloBelow
121.Hairaneehe laniThe sky
145.Herairemyhe leleA place on which fruit is laid as an offering to God
106.WoreroliloLost; stole
112.Hereemahe limuA species of Sida
96.Eerottoi lokoWithin; into
40.Erooie luaʻiTo retch, to puke
158.Herooanoohe luanuʻu (ʻdressed out in tapa,as temple images in Lonoʻs temple on important occasionsʻ)Wooden images in a burying house
76.Noonanuna/lunaAbove
85.Mareirama lailaThis place
64.EroemyE _____ maiFetch it here
202.Mymaʻi (ʻsicknessʻ)A sore of any kind
134.MaeeamaiʻaPlantains
24.MyaomaiʻaoFinger and toe nails
45.My, tymaikaʻiGood
8.MattamakaThe eye
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’.
38.Ma, ty, tymākaʻikaʻiTo look at, or survey a thing
137.MataneemakaniThe wind
176.MatoumakauA particular sort of fish-hook
220.MatoumakaʻuFear
70.MattemakeDead
44.Matoumākou (first person plural exclusive)I, first person singular
117.Modooa, tannemakuakāneFather
118.Madooa, waheinemakuawahineMother
228.Maramamalama (ʻlight, monthʻ)The moon
62.MaromaloA narrow stripe of cloth they wear
157.Hemanaahe mana (ʻtaboo house in a heiauʻ)*A house, or hut, where they bury their dead
*Te Rangi Hiroa 1964:571: ‘temple house’
204.MangomanōA shark
115.ManoomanuA bird
84.MaomaʻōThat way
56.MaonnamāʻonaFull, satisfied with eating
194.Maooamāua (ʻweʻ, dual excl.)I, first person singular
113.Meere, meeremilimiliTo look at, or behold
81.MeememimiTo make water
114.MoamoaA fowl
127.MoemoeTo sleep
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.
191.Moena, or moengamoenaA mat to sleep on
99.MotoomokuTo tear, or break
104.MotoomokuAn island
226.MotoomokuLand
42.Maa monamomona (ʻsweetʻ)Sweet or savoury food
119.Naiwe, nawie? [newe-newe] nahenahe ____Pleasant; agreeable
212.Henarohe naloA fly
225.Henaroohe naluThe swell of the sea
30.NannanānāLet me see it
110.Eunai____ nei, neʻiHere; at this place
151.Heneenehe niniA wall, the wall of a burying-ground
52.Eeneeoohe niuCocoa nuts
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
31.NohonohoTo sit
155.NonenoniMorinda citrifolia
128.NooenuiLarge
224.OheʻoheBamboo
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).
182.OeeaʻoiaYes; it is so
187.Ootee, or Otee, oteeʻoki, ʻokiʻokiTo cut
203.Oura, or ouraaolaCured; recovered; alive; well
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)
218.OoamouʻōmauFast; secure; sound; whole
92.Opoore? ʻōpule*Sparus parvus punctatus
*The scientific names don’t match. In modern dictionaries, the varieties of ‘ōpule are labelled Anampses.
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’?
184.Paraoo? pā lāʻau₂A wooden bowl
196.PataepaʻakaiSalt
72.PahapahaPerhaps
60.PahoopahuA drum
135.ParrapalaRipe; as, ripe fruit
165.Epappahe papaA board used to swim upon
188.Pappaneeheomano? papa nihi o manōA wooden instrument beset with sharks teeth, used to cut up those they kill
9.PappareengapapālinaThe cheek
175.Epaoo, or ooapa? e pau, ua pauThere is no more; it is done or finished
208.Paoo roapau loa (ʻall, everythingʻ)Quite done; finished
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."
125.Pymypehi maiThrow it here
6.Pepaiee aoopepeiaoThe ear
19.PeetopikoThe navel
141.Eeapohe pōNight
161.Pohootoo noa? pōhaku hoanaA cream-coloured whet-stone
49.PoepoiTaro pudding
111.PororeepōloliHunger; hungry
5.E poo*he poʻoThe head
*This is an example in which we assume that Anderson made a distinction between "oo" and "oo".
16.Poheevepoʻohiwi (ʻshoulderʻ)The arm
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).
221.PooapuaAn arrow
51.BooapuaʻaA hog
129.PoowhapūhāTo yawn
*NeSmith (ʻĀleka, Keiki Ali'i) uses pūhā for 'yawn' and confirmed the meaning. [?P-E: pūhā (‘belch, clear throat’)]
83.PootapukaA hole
78.PoorepuleA prayer
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.
18.Heoohe ūThe nipple
33.HooarraʻualaSweet potatoes
20.HoohaaʻūhāThe thigh
50.OoheuhiYams
172.Heoudoo? he uku (ʻrepay, exchangeʻ)A refusal; I will not do it, or take that for this
200.OotooʻukuA louse
143.Ooraʻula (ʻredʻ)Red feathers
67.OorooʻuluBread fruit
17.Ooma oomaumaumaThe breast
48.Oome*ʻumiA great number
*I suggest that ‘umi, now ‘ten’, once meant ‘a great number’. Cf. Geraghty’s similar meaning for Fijian tini.]
12.Oome oomeʻumiʻumiThe beard
87.Evaahe waʻaA canoe
35.WaheinewahineA woman
189.MaheinewahineA wife
57.Owytooehainoaʻo wai kou inoa?What is your name?
94.Evyhe waiFresh water
97.Owyte ereeʻo wai ke aliʻi?What is the chief’s name
101.VaheeowaihoLet it lie, or remain
126.Ewououttehe waukeMorua Papyris*
*Now classified as Broussonetia papyrifera.
21.He, wawyhe wāwaeThe leg
131.WehaiweheTo uncover and undo a thing
75.Hevaite? weke ʻto open a crack, as a door; to separate, loosen, freeTo unfold
91.Ahewaitehe wekeMullus cretaceus*
*P-E defines weke as follows: "Certain species of the Mullidae, surmullets or goatfish."
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

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

Hawaiian-English      concordance      English-Hawaiian      
introduction    counts    index    reverse index    references    topical