Kanaka Definition

kənakə, kanäkə; kanəkə
noun
A Hawaiian.
Webster's New World
A person born in the South Sea Islands.
Webster's New World
A South Sea Islander, especially one brought to Australia as a laborer in the 1800s and 1900s. Often used disparagingly.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Kanaka

Noun

Singular:
Kanaka
Plural:
kanakas

Origin of Kanaka

  • 1840. From Hawaiian kanaka (“person”), ultimately from Proto-Polynesian *taŋata.

    From Wiktionary

  • Hawaiian human being, Kanaka

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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Kanaka