Where does “big kahuna” come from?
big kahuna (English) comes from English kahuna, from Hawaiian kahuna, from Hawaiian -na, from Proto-Polynesian -ŋa.
big kahuna (English): A boss, leader, chieftain, or top-ranking person...
Definitions
- A boss, leader, chieftain, or top-ranking person...
Ancestry of “big kahuna”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | kahuna | A priest or priestess of the traditional Hawaiian... |
| 2 | Hawaiian | kahuna | priest, sorcerer, magician, minister, wizard;... |
| 3 | Hawaiian | -na | Common nominalizing suffix, sometimes with... |
| 4 | Proto-Polynesian | -ŋa | — |