lavalava

or la·va-la·va

[ lah-vuh-lah-vuh ]

/ ˌlɑ vəˈlɑ və /

noun

the principal garment for both sexes in Polynesia, especially in Samoa, consisting of a piece of printed cloth worn as a loincloth or skirt.

Origin of lavalava

1890–95; < Samoan: clothing

Also called pareu.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lava-lava

All the men wore trousers, for the Church has decided that the lava-lava is indecent.
The Trembling of a Leaf|William Somerset Maugham
As a rule he wore shabby ducks, but now he was barefoot and wore only the lava-lava of the natives.
The Trembling of a Leaf|William Somerset Maugham
The truth is that a lava-lava and a coating of oil are much the most healthy and practical costume in a tropical climate.
Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life|Margaret Elizabeth Leigh Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey
I am wearing only a lava-lava, and this faint sea-breeze blowing over me almost makes me forget the engines and their troubles.
Through the South Seas with Jack London|Martin Johnson

He passed two or three natives clad in nothing but the lava-lava, with huge umbrellas over them.
The Trembling of a Leaf|William Somerset Maugham

British Dictionary definitions for lava-lava

lava-lava

noun

a draped skirtlike garment of printed cotton or calico worn by Polynesians

Word Origin for lava-lava

Samoan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

lavalava

or la·va-la·va

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of lavalava

Examples from the Web for lava-lava

British Dictionary definitions for lava-lava

lava-lava

noun

Word Origin for lava-lava