Maui

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The second-largest island of Hawaii, famous for its beaches and volcanic landscapes ; a legendary trickster demigod in Polynesian mythology who fished islands from the sea
2. A Pacific island in the Hawaiian chain known for its volcanoes and coastline ; a heroic figure of Polynesian myth credited with pulling islands up from the ocean
3. An island in Hawaii noted for its volcano and scenic shores ; a mythical hero of Polynesian legend who is said to have lifted land out of the sea

Etymology: "Maui" is the name of a Polynesian demigod, a trickster famous across the islands for hauling up islands from the sea and snaring the sun. In Hawaiian tradition he is a figure of cleverness and audacity, and the name has been attached to places and things ever since, most famously the island that lies between Oahu and Hawaii in the Pacific. The English word is simply that proper name, and its path into English runs through the island rather than the myth directly. The name is generally thought to be a shortened form of Māui, the god's name in Hawaiian, or to have been borrowed from the closely related Māori form. Either way, the word reached English as a place name first, and the god's reputation travelled with it.