iiwi

American  

[ee-ee-wee] / iˈi wi /

Or 'i'iwi

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of iiwi

First recorded 1885–90; from Hawaiian ʿiʿiwi, derivative of ʿiwi “reddish;” compare earlier eeeeve (1779)

Example Sentences

They include iiwi and elepaio birds, a tree snail called pupu kani oe and the Hawaiian hoary bat, also known as opeapea.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2023

Maile Asuncion, 9, drew a red iiwi, also known as a scarlet honeycreeper.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2023

There the iiwi stayed put, allowing me to admire its long, delicately curved beak, which had evolved especially for sucking nectar out of flowers.

From New York Times • May 13, 2011

The meles tell of their love in the Pulou ravine, where they caught the bright iiwi birds, and the scarlet apapani.

From Hawaiian Folk Tales A Collection of Native Legends by Thrum, Thomas G. (Thomas George)

Aiwohikupua clothed himself in his snow mantle that Poliahu had given him, put on the helmet of ie vine wrought with feathers of the red iiwi bird.

From The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai by Beckwith, Martha Warren