Poi

//ˌpiː ˌəʊ ˈaɪ// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The traditional staple food of Hawaii, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment. Hawaii, uncountable

    "It was a far cry from the traditional Hawaiian feast, which always included the beloved poi, a purplish paste made from pounded taro root […]."

  2. 2
    A small ball made of leaves and fibres, attached to a string. New-Zealand, countable, uncountable

    "Warriors formerly used poi actions to maintain wrist flexibility, but poi have developed as a women's dance. Classic poi dances and songs are reputed to have been those of the people of the Taranaki, Rotorua, and Whanganui tribal areas, but poi are now performed everywhere in Aotearoa."

  3. 3
    Alternative form of poee (“Goan flatbread”). alt-of, alternative, uncountable
  4. 4
    Initialism of point of interest. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

    "These POIs are usually visualized as icons (e.g., push pins, markers in Google Maps) in a base map, with some multimedia information—mostly text, images, and videos—attached to the icons (Haklay et al., 2008)."

  5. 5
    Hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    A creamy Samoan dessert of ripe bananas mashed with coconut cream. uncountable
  2. 7
    A traditional dance performed by Maori women involving the rhythmic swinging of such a ball. New-Zealand, countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    Initialism of person of interest. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, person
  4. 9
    Initialism of point of impact. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hawaiian poi.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Māori poi.

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