humuhumu

English

Etymology

Clipping of humuhumunukunukuapuaa under influence from Hawaiian humuhumu (“triggerfish”).

Noun

humuhumu

1. Clipping of humuhumunukunukuapuaa.
   • 2007 November 11, Bruce Handy, “Escapes”, in The New York Times Book Review‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 5 June 2015:

     And so he does: Jules travels the globe to hug, among others, a chimpanzee, a giraffe, a gnu, a panda, a wombat and a humuhumu fish (fun to read aloud, whether you know how to pronounce it or not).

Further reading

• “humuhumu”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Hawaiian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌhu.muˈhu.mu/

Noun

humuhumu

1. triggerfish

Verb

humuhumu

1. (transitive) to sew

Māori

Verb

humuhumu

1. (stative) to be amputated; to be ripped apart

   He waewae humuhumu tōna, engari he kaha tonu ia ki te purei hau pōro.

   He had an amputated leg but was still able to play golf.

   • 2021, “Tangaroa”, performed by Alien Weaponry:

     Ka humuhumu Tangaroa tātou! / Ka humuhumu nga tamariki ō Tangaroa!

     We amputate the limbs of Tangaroa / The children of Tangaroa are being ripped apart

Further reading

• “humuhumu” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.