kaona
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit](This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
[edit]kaona
- A hidden or secondary meaning in Hawaiian poetry that can only be understood in cultural context; the use thereof.
- 2004 September 7, Noenoe K. Silva, Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism, Duke University Press, →ISBN, page 8:
- Without the knowledge of cultural codes in Hawaiian, foreigners who understood the language could still be counted on to miss kaona