hapa
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of hapa
First recorded in 1985–90; from Hawaiian Pidgin: “half”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, over the course of the 20th century, hapa subjects transformed the meaning of the word from one with derogatory connotations to one charged with affirmative associations.
From Salon ● Jan. 2, 2023
There’s no character development to speak of, though the two nice sisters going gaga over the handsome hapa detective each make you root for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2021
Tiller is Lee’s modern American Everyman: 20 years old, one-eighth Asian, and referred to, depending on where he is in the world, as hapa, haole and farang — mixed, nonnative, white.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2021
It stars an Asian American lead and features a biracial family with a white dad, a mother of Korean heritage, and hapa siblings.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2018
It always used to amuse me to hear Abdi calling out, "Enjani hapa, Saa Sitaa"—"Come here, Six O'clock."
From In Africa Hunting Adventures in the Big Game Country by John T. McCutcheon
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
