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kahuna

[ kuh-hoo-nuh ]

/ kəˈhu nə /

noun

(in Hawaii) a native medicine man or priest.

Words nearby kahuna

kahn, kahn test, kahoolawe, kahramanmaraş, kahului, kahuna, kai, kai moana, kaiak, kaibab squirrel, kaieteur

Origin of kahuna

Borrowed into English from Hawaiian around 1885–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for kahuna

Long and earnestly the kahuna practised all the arts with which he was acquainted and yet completely failed.
Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology)|W. D. (William Drake) Westervelt
The death of Kohaokalani is attributed chiefly to the Kahuna.
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands|Charles Nordhoff
The many known examples of their criminal use inclines us to believe that these kahuna were rather poisoners than magicians.
Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands|Charles Nordhoff
When a Kanaka has endured an injury he hires a kahuna to pray his enemy to death.
Myths & Legends of our New Possessions & Protectorate|Charles M. Skinner

The kahuna lapaau (medical priest) then said, “Open your mouth.”
Hawaiian Folk Tales|Various

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