Saturday, July 4, 2009

Kōkoʻolua

n. Companion, partner, associate, fellow worker, mate, partnership, second (in a dual), union (always of two). Kona kōkoʻolua, his companion. ʻO ʻoe koʻu kōkoʻolua - You are my companion.

The main part of this word is kōkoʻo - n. Partnership, partner, associate, companion (nearly always followed by a number designating the number of associated persons, as kōkoʻolua, kōkoʻokolu. (See koʻo-, Gram. 10.3.) Nā lawaiʻa kōkoʻo o nā moku, the associated fishermen of the islands.

I like the idea that you can add a number onto the tail end of kōkoʻo to specify your "associates". When I am with my BFF she is my kōkoʻolua, but frequently there are three of us, ʻekolu, so together we are kōkoʻokolu. The more the merrier.

ʻO wai kou kōkoʻolua? Who is your partner?
ʻO _____ koʻu kōkoʻolua. ______  is my partner. (fill in the blank with your bff!)

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