Kuulei Martins wrote in last week to generously expand upon my limited explanation of the word “kau kau.” This is in regards to the story “Kau kau tins still alive and well on Kaua‘i.” Here is some information regarding the
Kuulei Martins wrote in last week to generously expand upon my limited explanation of the word “kau kau.”
This is in regards to the story “Kau kau tins still alive and well on Kaua‘i.” Here is some information regarding the word from the Web site
kaukautime.blogspot.com.
“Kaukau” is a pidgin slang word meaning “food” or “to eat.” The Hawaiian term for food is ‘ai.
The two theories on the origin of the word “kaukau” are the Hawaiian word for table, pâkaukau and the Chinese word for food, chow chow. In Hawai‘i we say, “We go kaukau.” I would say, “I hungry I like kaukau,” or “Let’s kaukau.”
