noun, verb ·1 syllable ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A chant in Polynesia, especially Hawaii, typically in praise of a leader or to commemorate some significant event.

   "Lili‘u set to work assisting Fornander by translating mele and legends for him."

2. 2
   Alternative form of mell. alt-of, alternative

Verb

1. 1
   Alternative form of mell. alt-of, alternative

Example

More examples

"Lili‘u set to work assisting Fornander by translating mele and legends for him."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Hawaiian mele.

Etymology 2

Variant forms.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.