Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A Hawaiian food made from the tuber of the taro that is cooked, pounded to a paste, and fermented.
  • noun A traditional Maori performance art in which one swings in each hand a rope with a ball at the end, usually in specific, complex patterns.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In music, then; later: as, adagio poi allegro, slowly, then quickly; or poi segue, then follows.
  • noun An article of food of the Sandwich Islanders, prepared from the root of the taro, Colocasia antiquorum.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A national food of the Hawaiians, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A national food of the Hawaiians, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment.
  • noun A creamy Samoan dessert of ripe bananas mashed with coconut cream.
  • noun A pair of roughly arm-length chains with loop handles attached to one end and bundle of wicking material on the other used in fire dancing (fire spinning). Poi used for practice may also consist of a fabric streamer with a light weight, such as a beanbag, at the leading edge.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun Hawaiian dish of taro root pounded to a paste and often allowed to ferment

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Hawaiian.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Maori, ball.]

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Examples

  • I spin poi and so understand the weave BUT trying it a bit on my hoops proved painful.

    Hooping.org | Blog | Three Beat Reverse Weaves 2009

  • Drex, who has a background in poi spinning, teaches us how to do cateyes with a hoop.

    Hooping.org | Blog | Cateyes 2009

  • I play drums, spin poi, staff, and hoop at overton park every week and i have never seen another hooper! where are these girls?!

    Hooping.org | Blog | Hooping Blossoms in Memphis 2009

  • Poi was created by the Maori people of New Zealand and the word poi can refer to the physical object, the choreography and the accompanying music.

    Summit Daily News - Top Stories By SUMMIT UP 2010

  • Poi was created by the Maori people of New Zealand and the word poi can refer to the physical object, the choreography and the accompanying music.

    Summit Daily News - Top Stories By SUMMIT UP 2010

  • Poi was created by the Maori people of New Zealand and the word poi can refer to the physical object, the choreography and the accompanying music.

    Summit Daily News - Top Stories By SUMMIT UP 2010

  • Poi was created by the Maori people of New Zealand and the word poi can refer to the physical object, the choreography and the accompanying music.

    Summit Daily News - Top Stories By SUMMIT UP 2010

  • a little water is poured on it, when it is reduced to a paste called poi, which is then fit to eat.

    A Voyage round the World A book for boys William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • The brief duty visit over, Martha arose and accompanied her back to the bungalow, putting money into her hand, commanding proud and beautiful Japanese housemaids to wait upon the dilapidated aborigine with poi, which is compounded of the roots of the water lily, with iamaka, which is raw fish, and with pounded kukui nut and limu, which latter is seawood tender to the toothless, digestible and savoury.

    ON THE MAKALOA MAT 2010

  • Mashed taro (the tuber used to make the island specialty known as poi) is the de rigueur replacement for ordinary mashed potatoes, and coconut-creme-spinach sauce is as ubiquitous as brown gravy at a Southern truck stop.

    Hawaiian Flavors 2007

Comments

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  • Italian for then.

    (I visited this page only because Mozilla's spell check didn't mark it while I was writing in Italian)

    August 23, 2008

  • Po - I (polonium, iodine). And to some, that's what poi tastes like.

    February 2, 2013