n. Milk; a wet nurse; breast. Lit., breast liquid. 

My cousin’s husband, in Denmark (shout out to Jon!!!), is making an effort to learn Hawaiian before they make a trip here. He was impressed that words related to milk are similar and sensible (you will see on subsequent days this week).

Today’s word, waiū, literally means liquid/water (wai) [from the] breast (ū). We get all our dairy products from waiū, no matter what mammal it may be, whether it is pipi (cow) or kao (goat). We don’t refer to soy milk or coconut milk as waiū because those are not made from any mammal’s ū (breast, teat, udder).

You will see, as the week progresses, how many of the words this week will contain waiū because milk is the base product.

Maikaʻi ka waiū no ka pēpē – Breast milk is good for babies.

Pipiʻi ka waiū ma Hawaiʻi – Milk is expensive in Hawaiʻi (and this is a FACT).

Ka ʻai hūnā i ka poli – The food hidden in the bosom (breast milk).

Glass and Bottle of Milk bxp159810h