iiwi

[ee-ee-wee]

noun

a Hawaiian honeycreeper, Vestiaria coccinea, having a red body, black wings, and a deeply curved pinkish-red bill.

Origin of iiwi

1885–90; < Hawaiian ʿiʿiwi, derivative of ʿiwi reddish; compare earlier eeeeve (1779)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for iiwi

Historical Examples of iiwi

Sometimes the iiwi (a small red bird) fluttered in the air and uttered its shrill, happy song, and Maui saw and heard.
Legends of Ma-ui--a demi god of Polynesia, and of his mother Hina
W. D. Westervelt