Waikiki

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A famous beach resort area on the southern shore of Oahu, within the city of Honolulu in Hawaii
2. A well-known seaside neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, popular with tourists for its sandy shoreline
3. The celebrated coastal resort district of Honolulu, Hawaii, known for its beaches, hotels and surfing

Etymology: Waikiki comes from Hawaiian, and its literal meaning is usually given as "spouting water," a reference to the freshwater springs and streams that once fed the wetlands of the area. Before the district became a tourist landmark, it was a marshy coastal region of taro patches and fishponds on the island of Oahu, and the springs that rose through its sand were the defining feature that gave the place its name. The word moved into English as the name of the district, and its use expanded over time to stand for the whole stretch of beach and hotels that now lines the shore. Today the name is so tied to the resort that the original wetlands are easy to forget, and the word often calls up images of surfboards and hotel towers rather than the springs that gave it its meaning.