lulu

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lulu"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈluːlu/

• Rhymes: -uːlu

Etymology 1

Probably from American stage magician Lulu Hurst (1869–1950).

Noun

lulu (plural lulus) (slang, originally US)

1. A remarkable person, object, or idea.

   Synonyms: exception, ace, innovation, champion, comedy, surprise, doozie, humdinger

   • 1943, Looney Tunes, Jack-wabbit and the Beanstalk‎^[2], spoken by The Giant:

     Look out for that first step. It's a lulu.

   • 1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 167:

     The funny part was, though, we were the worst skaters on the whole goddam^[sic] rink. I mean the worst. And there were some lulus, too.

   • 1961, James Edward Grant, Clair Huffaker, The Comancheros‎^[3], spoken by Jake Cutter (John Wayne):

     Mon-sewer, you are a lulu!

   • 2013, Andrew Lycett, Ian Fleming, page 301:

     Seriously, I mean it: From Russia, With Love is a real wowser, a lulu, a dilly and a smasheroo.

   • 2025 October 9, Parul Sehgal, “Thomas Pynchon Saw Where America Was Headed. What Does He See Now?”, in The New York Times Magazine‎^[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     The job: a real lulu. The heiress to a cheese fortune has run off with a clarinet player in a swing band, and Hicks is dispatched to bring her home.

     (Can we archive this URL?)

2. A very attractive or alluring person.

   Synonyms: babe, beauty, cutie, doll, stunner

   Antonyms: (woman) dog, fright, monster, monstrosity, sight

3. A very bad mistake or error.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:error

Etymology 2

From the phrase in lieu.

Noun

lulu (plural lulus)

1. (slang) A fixed allowance paid to a legislator in lieu of reimbursement for actual expenses.

Further reading

• “lulu n.¹ (anyone or anything exceptional)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.
• “lulu n.² (lavatory)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.
• “lulu n.³ (gonorrhoea)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.
• “lulu n.⁴ (moneys disbursed)”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present.

Cebuano

Verb

lulu

1. nonstandard spelling of lulo

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlulu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ulu
• Syllabification: lu‧lu

Verb

lulu

1. imperative of luli

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central Pacific *lulu. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

lulu

1. barn owl (Tyto alba)

   Synonyms: vevewa (West); sego, tego (Nadroga)

2. (by extension) owl (any bird of prey of the order Strigiformes)

   Au raica na lulu e vuka tiko e na yakavi.

   I saw the owl flying in the evening.

Derived terms

• lulunisiga (“day-feeding owl”) (Namosi)
• luluve (“day-feeding owl”)
• mata lulu (“attentive in watching”, literally “owl-faced”)
• tokalulu (“peeping Tom”)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “lulu”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[5], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 148

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ly.ly/

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

lulu f (plural lulus)

1. (Quebec) twintail, pigtail; one of a pair of ponytails on the sides of the head

   Synonym: couette

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *ruru, from Proto-Oceanic *ruru, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duŋduŋ (“sheltered”), from the root *-duŋ. Cognates include Māori and Tahitian ruru and Tongan ū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlu.lu/

Noun

lulu

1. calm, peace
2. shelter; safe place
3. shield

Derived terms

• haʻalulu
• Honolulu
• hoʻohaʻalulu

See also

• lūlū

References

• Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H. (1986), “lulu”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN, page 215

Mauritian Creole

Noun

lulu

1. alternative spelling of loulou

References

• Baker, Philip; Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987), Diksiyoner kreol morisyeṅ [Mauritian Creole Dictionary] (in French and English), Paris: L'Harmattan, →ISBN, page 208

Nupe

Lulu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lū.lū/

Noun

lulu

1. cotton
2. cotton plant

   Synonym: cigbàn lulu

Derived terms

• cigbàn lulu (“cotton plant”)
• lulu fìtíla (“lamp wick”)
• lulu fùkà (“unginned cotton”)
• lulu kòsun (“cotton seed”)
• luludzáci (“ginned cotton; one who gins cotton”)
• lulukùnci (“carded cotton; one who cards cotton”)
• lulupínci (“thread; spun cotton; one who spins cotton”)
• lulutsúci (“carded cotton; one who cards cotton”)
• luluyàci (“picked cotton; one who picks seeds out of cotton”)

Polish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlu.lu/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ulu
• Syllabification: lu‧lu

Verb

lulu impf (defective)

1. (intransitive, childish, humorous) to sleep

   Synonym: spać

   Chodź lulu! ― Go to sleep!

Further reading

• “lulu”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[6] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “lulu”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[7] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from French loulou.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /luˈlu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /luˈlu/

• Rhymes: -lu
• Hyphenation: lu‧lu

Noun

lulu m (plural lulus)

1. (informal) Any small dog.
2. synonym of lulu-da-pomerânia

Derived terms

• lulu-da-pomerânia

Further reading

• “lulu”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “lulu”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “lulu”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “lulu”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Samoan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *lulu (“barn owl”), from Proto-Oceanic *druru (“owl”).

Noun

lulu

1. barn owl

References

• Milner, G.B. (1993), Samoan Dictionary, Auckland: Polynesian Press, →ISBN, page 115

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic لُؤْلُؤ (luʔluʔ, “pearls”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

lulu class IX (plural lulu class X)

1. pearl

Yogad

Noun

lulú

1. bubble; foam