pahoehoe
Americannoun
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A type of lava having a smooth, swirled surface. It is highly fluid and spreads out in shiny sheets.
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Compare aa
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.”
Etymology
Origin of pahoehoe
First recorded in 1855–60, pahoehoe is from the Hawaiian word pāhoehoe
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.
Understanding how pahoehoe morphs into aa is more than just scientific curiosity because the two lava types move at different speeds and pose distinct hazards.
From Science Magazine • Jun. 9, 2023
Emerson pulverized a bit of hardened pahoehoe from a 1920 eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano and heated the powdered rock in a furnace until it was white-hot and oozed like honey.
From Science Magazine • Jun. 9, 2023
It's just like pahoehoe, except that's molten rock.
From BBC • May 18, 2020
It was followed by a grueling three-hour trek over a volcanic smorgasbord of chunky lava — ropy pahoehoe formations, cinder cones and a goulash of grit.
From Washington Post • Sep. 27, 2019
Ke-au-miki stood looking for a path, but could only see what seemed to be pahoehoe lava.
From Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian by Westervelt, W. D. (William Drake)
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.
