pali
noun
(in Hawaii) a steep slope or cliff.
pali
1 American
[pah-lee]
/ ˈpɑ li /
noun
Pali
2
American
[pah-lee]
/ ˈpɑ li /
noun
Pali
British
/ ˈpɑːlɪ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of pali1
From Hawaiian
Origin of Pali2
1685–95; short for Sanskrit pāli-bhāsa language of the canonical texts, equivalent to pāli line, row, canon + bhāsa language
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.
See Examples For:
A red British passport was a prized possession for those who had been in the UK long enough to own one alongside the Nigerian document, known as a green pali.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2019
Ho’omaluhia Botanic Garden, at the foot of the pali, is richly replanted in native species.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2011
The pali, by the way, is a figure often used by Hawaiian poets to mean the glory and dignity of the human body.
From Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
He climbs, he climbs, he climbs up aloft, Kaholo-ku'-iwa, the pali of Ha'i. 5Accomplished now is the steep, The ladder-like series of steps.
From Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
Mele Kalalau, pali eku i ka makani; Pu ka Lawa-kua, 232 hoi mau i Kolo-kini; Nu a anahulu ka pa ana i-uka-- Anahulu me na po keu elua.
From Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula by Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
Blanck, he said, “has not only been a great instructor but has been a fixture within the Pali community for many decades.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Parents decked out in the blue and white colors of the Pali High Dolphins lined the entrance and cheered on their teenagers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2026
Likely composed by the earliest Buddhist nuns in a variety of Indian languages between 600 and 300 B.C., the verses were later anthologized in Pali, the scriptural language of Theravada Buddhism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
After the Jan. 7 fire, local businesses — either physically destroyed or suffering from a lack of customers — stopped purchasing advertisements in the Pali Post, the owner wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2025
It was funny to think of Henry, with his little round glasses and his books in Pali, breaking Spike Romney’s collarbone.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
