pahoehoe

[ pah-hoh-ey-hoh-ey, puh-hoh-ee-hoh-ee ]

noun

1. basaltic lava having a smooth or billowy surface.

pahoehoe

/ pə-hoi′hoi′ /

1. A type of lava having a smooth, swirled surface. It is highly fluid and spreads out in shiny sheets.
2. Compare aa

Word History and Origins

Origin of pahoehoe¹

First recorded in 1855–60, pahoehoe is from the Hawaiian word pāhoehoe

Word History

The islands that make up Hawaii were born and bred from volcanoes that rose up over thousands of years from the sea floor. Volcanoes are such an important part of the Hawaiian landscape and environment that the people who originally settled Hawaii, the Polynesians, worshiped a special volcano goddess, Pele. Not surprisingly, two words have entered English from Hawaiian that are used by scientists in naming different kinds of lava flows. One, pahoehoe, refers to lava with a smooth, shiny, or swirled surface and comes from the Hawaiian verb hoe, “to paddle” (since paddles make swirls in the water). The other, aa, refers to lava having a rough surface and comes from the Hawaiian word meaning “to burn.”

Example Sentences

Pahoehoe: The sterile, flintlike lava as distinguished from aa, the friable and highly fertile lava.

From Project Gutenberg

She will fill up your fishing grounds with the pahoehoe (lava), and you will starve.

From Project Gutenberg

Ke-au-miki stood looking for a path, but could only see what seemed to be pahoehoe lava.

From Project Gutenberg