kava

American  

[kah-vuh] / ˈkɑ və /

noun

1. a Polynesian shrub, Piper methysticum, of the pepper family, the aromatic roots of which are used to make an intoxicating beverage.

2. the beverage made from these roots.

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kava British  

/ ˈkɑːvə /

noun

1. a Polynesian shrub, Piper methysticum: family Piperaceae

2. a drink prepared from the aromatic roots of this shrub

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Other Word Forms

• Kavaic adjective

Etymology

Origin of kava

1810–20; < Polynesian (first recorded from Tonga Islands)

Example Sentences

In 1915, Hollmann was the acting assistant surgeon at Hawaii’s Leprosy Investigation Station when he was given a copy of Ball’s master’s thesis, a 44-page analysis of the kava plant’s chemical properties.

From New York Times • Apr. 8, 2023

Mr Yazbek adds that Kava - a local social drink made from the root or stump of the kava shrub - could be marketed far more widely than it currently is.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2022

Now, you can drink your kava straight if you want, even out of the traditional hollowed-out coconut, but I find it unpleasantly bitter and chalky by itself.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2021

The majority of the production losses to Sapra’s 90-acre farm in Taveuni, the third-largest island in Fiji, were to his kava crop, a valuable cash crop which is fragile to strong winds.

From The Guardian • Feb. 19, 2020

“Give the kava to the rest,” said Aka�nga to the daughters of Miru.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI by Stevenson, Robert Louis