Wiki. Don’t you? But have you ever wondered what wiki means?
WikiLeaks has been in the news lately because it released a document that encompasses over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan. Wikileaks is a site that obtains and publishes sensitive material and is designed to protect whistleblowers, journalists, and activists.
Wiki is the abbreviation of WikiWikiWeb, which was the first wiki software. It’s actually a Hawaiianword that means “fast.”
As a noun, wiki means a collaborative website that can be directly edited using only a web browser. (And yes, this definition comes straight off of Wikipedia.) It is also used as a verb. If you wiki, you are either researching a topic on a wiki or contributing one.
The word has been translated into a number of languages. In Estonian it is viki; in Welsh it is wici.
Are you a wikiholic? If you are, you probably already know what the word means. A wikiholic devotes a vast amount of time to wiki-based projects.
A word from one language that enters another is called a loanword. Wiki is not the only word on loan from Hawaiian. Aloha, which means “hello,” “love,” and “good-bye,” is used frequently by English speakers. (Although, it is likely that no Hawaiian word is as widely used as wiki.) And there is another tech company with a Hawaiian name, Mahalo, which means “thank you.” Let’s not forget, luau, hula, and kahuna, among others.
Incidentally, avocado is a loanword too, and the Aztecs called it the “fertility fruit.” Here’s why.
There are some Hawaiian words that for one reason or another will probably never be adopted by the English language. An example would be humuhumunukunukuapuaa. Tell us what you think the word means, or what it sounds like it should mean, and we will add the most creative offering to the blog post later (as well as the actual definition.)
Thank you for all the fun play-definitions of humuhumunukunukuapuaa, which is of course “either of two triggerfishes.” Our pick for the most creative comes from Mark: “A small, carniverous marsupial that lurks in trees and drops down onto prey. The straight Translation means ‘Furred Domination in the skies.’” Lucky for us, the actual creature is far more benign.
Humuhnuhmkajfkkkelyahktkofnu is obviously the most delicious food in this planet!
humuhumunukunukuapuaa means welcome? I know I’ve heard it somewhere, I even remember hearing a song about it…does it mean to care? I give up!
Its the name for a fish!
the worst food in the world =)
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa was literally the first hawaiian word I ever learned. It’s some sort of little fish I think. I expect its barely as long as its name written out.
its what the natives say with when they can see some humans coming that they dont recognise…humanhumansarecoming (or did i read wrong)
It reads from the movie “Mary Poppins” supercalifragilisticexpialidocious… so could it be a fun and spunky word? This guessing is tickling!
humuhumunukunukuapuaa sounds like it should mean that your humming along to the radio, but your off pitch or something haha. or that you are doing reallly bad karaoke? ha.
It’s the Hawaiin pronounciation of a Culture Club song.
Thanks for the explanation about WIKI definition and the meaning. Honestly speaking, this is my first time heard about it. I asked myself, why I didn’t bother about it earlier? till your article published.
it sounds like a lawnmower starting when you say it out loud. Let’s go with lawnmower.
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is a genus of reef triggerfish and the official state fish of Hawaii. I only know this because it’s also the name of the computerised fish that helps teach children in the classroom…of the starship Enterprise.
LOL! @Joe: xDDDD That was hilarious.
aaaaaaaaaaand, I had no idea what that word meant, until I looked it up =D
humuhumunukunukuapuaa : A small, carniverous marsupial that lurks in trees and drops down onto prey. The straight Translation means “Furred Domination in the skies”. Due to human expansion, they have been known to be forced out of their natural climate, and lurk on rooftops, mistaking pedestrians for targets, and have ruined many a fine hat. They are otherwise known as a ‘Dropbear’ in Australia
If Ralph Kramden were Hawaiian, it’s what he would say when his wife, Alice, caught him in a crazy situation with his pal, Norton. The English-language “hum-a-nah” said 3 times REALLY fast becomes, in Hawaiian, “humuhumunukunukuapuaa” — of course, I could be wrong. ;0)
humuhumunukunukuapuaa means “islanders on the other side of dreaming” and literally refers to the various Polynesian inhabitants of the dreamtime island of humuhumunukunu, more commonly referred to as the kahuna’s “portal to the void.”
THANK YOU! This has been driving me nuts for weeks.
“Humu-humu” means “humorous”
“Nuku-nuku” means “nuclear”
“Apua’a” means “ape”
So this is the Hawaiian word for “humorous nuclear ape.”
I think.
humuhumunukunukuapuaa. Isn’t that the tune you hum while you’re waiting to complete your business in the bathroom?
its the name for the state fish in hawaii
we would just call it the trigger fish
“Humuhumunukunukuapuaa” is the thing to say,
On a bright Hawaiian New Year’s Day…
I know what it means, but I’d like to think it means the grains of black sand stuck in your hair after falling asleep on Hanamanu Beach after your car was stolen and you coulnd’t catch a ride back to your hotel.
Well, some people have given it away, like Joe, who said that it is the first Hawaiian word that he ever learned; unless his teacher was an idiot, he gave it away; however…it SOUNDS like it should mean those rings that you see around the moon on some nights…one ring would be a humukunuapuaa, and when you see two rings, well..you get “the word of the day”
Oh, my grandma taught me that one! “humuhumunukunukuapuaa” is the Hawaiian name for the trigger fish.
it means triggerfish eyeballs or toothpaste
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa Humuhumunukunukuapuaa
IT MEANS A FISH THAT SEEKS FOR VENGENCE UPON THE HOSTILE TALIBANS WHO COULDN’T TEACH BABIES HOW TO FLY. SCIENTIFFIC NAME FOR IT IS THE RHINOUSORAUS FISHITISIDHRITOROSOICISHFISH
Now I kno what humuhumunukunukuapuaa means. Thank you Dictionary.com.
[...] “WIKILEAKS” is no disaster — another lesson learned is wikifaster — and where the heck did DEMOCRAZY go. — Besides the politicians — it’s the Subdural Hematoma Transmissions — that other wise would never see the light of day. — The unconscious way we’re dying is Status Quo confining. — Free thinking tells us that there’s got to be a better way. — Rules aren’t made for fools. — Unless it’s fools that make the rules — and we do need better schools. — It depends on what you hear when someone speaks. — If it’s all about your General self — then fall off the Continental shelf. — “Take these chains from my heart” and “WIKILEAKS”. –>>Rupert L.T.Rhymes [...]
On a bright Hawaiian New Year’s Day…
Thank you for providing very interesting facts and useful information!
.dictionary.com/
Good thing this blog explained what a Wiki was, because the tools who actually read this site are too dumb to know it!
Nice post and this fill someone in on helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you for your information.
its the state fish of Hawaii.
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
[...] rest is here: WikiLeaks, wiki-this, wiki-that. What does “wiki” mean, & what … Share and [...]
It’s a fishie
The obvious:
why do you bother saying that every article?
sounds to me someone with a very grumpy nature is bored.
Isn’t that fish mentioned in the old song “Little Grass Shack” from the 1920’s or 30’s? Didn’t Darla Hood sing it on “The Little Rascals” in that crazy Follies episode? They’re all dead, all of those little sons-of-bitches are dead! All choked on fish bones! Humuhumunuku . . . g-a-a-a-a-aaaaag!! Mama Cass Elliot choked on a Hamanamasamawhama!
And now we have the company WIKIGulp which is swallowing up competition. So when you combine wiki which means “fast” and use it with “gulp” is to swallow up or consume in one giant or big swallow… you inturn get a company doing just that…swallowing up fast every social media company and thus: WIKIGulp is created. By the way…the site? UNBELEIVABLE. They are being heralded as “Facebook on Steroids.”
Unbelievable…sorry..I was typing realllllly fast. LOL
Wow, I thought “wiki” was an abbreviation for “what I know is…”
Now I know it’s not correct, but it was my best guess at the time.
hee hee
So, “Wiki-” used as a prefix on the web means “unreliable information.” What’s popular is true. Good to know. ^~^
State fish is correct. Someone said something about a song. It is the title of a Disco Biscuits song (no, they are not a disco band, it’s an old term for quelude but but now means ecstasy).
[...] word wiki comes from a Hawaiian word that means [...]
coincidentally, the letters W I K I can be a good acronym for What I Know Is 
what does wiki mean and where was it originated for neeed to know for an exam thanxs hannah xxxxxx
[...] word wiki comes from a Hawaiian word that means [...]
[...] word wiki comes from a Hawaiian word that means [...]
I always thought WIKI was an acronym for
What I Know Is………………….. Kinda fits the parameters of what a WIKI is and does.
At any rate, Wiki is a fun word!