Meaning & use
kapu
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Forbidden or sacred under traditional Hawaiian law and custom; used in Hawaiian English to mean off-limits or taboo.
See it in a sentence
The old heiau, or temple site, was marked kapu and closed to visitors.
Signs reading 'Kapu — Keep Out' line the trail near the sacred grove.
A note on using this word
Kapu comes from Hawaiian and originally referred to the strict system of religious and social laws in traditional Hawaiian society, related to the Polynesian word 'tapu,' the source of English 'taboo.'
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. noun
The traditional Hawaiian system of sacred laws and prohibitions.
Breaking kapu in old Hawaii could be punished severely.
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