- lei
- Lei (for various kinds, see Haw.-Eng. entry and entries that follow it). See saying, pu'upu'u1.♦ Feather lei, lei hulu.♦ Any lei for the neck, lei, lei 'ā'ī.♦ Head lei, lei po'o.♦ Hat lei, lei pāpale.♦ Flat lei, as for a hat, lei papa.♦ Shell lei, lei pūpū.♦ “Puka shell” lei, lei pūpū puka.♦ To wear a lei, lei, leilei, lei pāpahi.♦ Decked with leis, 'ohu'ohu.♦ Lei seller, to sell leis, kau lei.♦ Spirals of several colors in composite leis, 'oni, wili.♦ To string a lei, kui lei.♦ To braid a lei, haku lei.♦ To make a lei with sections of different colors, paukū.♦ To slip flowers from stringing needle to string, kāhe'e.♦ Method of making a hat lei, kuipapa.♦ Old (but not ancient) leis of the islands: 'ilima (O'ahu); kukui (Moloka'i); lokelani (Maui); kauna'oa (Lā-na'i); hinahina (heliotrope or its substitute, Florida moss, Ka-ho'olawe); lehua (Hawai'i); mokihana (Kaua'i); pūpū (Ni'ihau).For songs about lei see Elbert and Mahoe.
English-Hawaiian dictionary. 2015.