makai
Americanadverb
Usage
What does makai mean? Makai means toward the sea. Makai is a common term in Hawaiian that has been adopted into English. It describes the location of something in terms of being near or at the ocean, or seaward. Related to makai is mauka, meaning "toward the mountains or inland.” People in Hawaii often give directions in terms of whether something is toward the ocean (makai) or the mountains (mauka), especially in boating and sea travel. Example: The hiking trail makai of the reservation has lovely ocean views.
Etymology
Origin of makai
< Hawaiian, equivalent to ma directional particle + kai ocean
Explanation
The word makai is used in directions in Hawaii to mean "toward the sea" or "oceanward." When someone tells you to head makai, that means to head in the direction of the water. Makai combines the Hawaiian words ma, meaning "at, toward, beside, or on," and kai, meaning "sea." On the Hawaiian islands, the opposite direction of makai is mauka, "toward the mountains." Because the Hawaiian islands are surrounded by water and often have volcanic mountains near their centers, the sea and the mountains are useful landmarks for giving directions. So if you're told that the shaved ice stand is on the makai side of the shopping center, you should head to the side facing the water.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The boulevard and the makai bank of the Ala Wai Canal could then be converted into “a multi-purpose Waikiki super dike,” the outlet said.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 5, 2021
The same can’t be said of the makai palak, a murky little swamp of spinach and corn.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2019
Those who were near him saw it, but were not disposed to let him off so easily, and they ran several rows of netting makai, the water being very shallow for quite a distance out.
From Hawaiian Folk Tales A Collection of Native Legends by Thrum, Thomas G. (Thomas George)
For all practical purposes there are but two directions in the islands—mouka, meaning toward the mountains, and makai, toward the sea.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 26, October, 1880 by Various
Hou-hou, meaning “in a huff,” I hear on all sides; and two words, makai, signifying “on the sea-side,” and mauka, “on the mountain side.”
From The Hawaiian Archipelago by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
