kahili

English

Etymology

From Hawaiian kāhili.

Noun

kahili (plural kahilis or kahili)

  1. (Hawaii) A feather standard mounted on a pole, as traditionally used in Hawaii on ceremonial occasions.
    • 1866, Mark Twain, Letter from Hawaii:
      A dozen or more of these gaudy kahilis were upheld by pallbearers.
    • 2012, Julia Flynn Siler, Lost Kingdom, Grove Press, page 118:
      Mourners carried a hundred or more kāhili, some highly unusual or old or with special names, such as the malulani (shade of the heavens), a handsome large kāhili of black ostrich feathers.

Derived terms
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