English
mele
Mele comes from Hawaiian mele.
- Hawaiianmodernmele
- Englishearliest quotation 2012same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Hawaiianmodernmele
- Englishearliest quotation 2012same form
Earliest quotation: 2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom: “Lili‘u set to work assisting Fornander by translating mele…”
Every English word from Hawaiian mele
Today it means
noun A chant in Polynesia, especially Hawaii, typically in praise of a leader or to commemorate some significant event.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Hawaiian mele / mele