poi
/pɔɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The traditional staple food of Hawaii, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment.
Uncountable
noun
A small ball made of leaves and fibres, attached to a string.
New Zealand usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
A traditional dance performed by Maori women involving the rhythmic swinging of such a ball.
New Zealand usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
noun
noun
Initialism of point of impact.
Example Sentences
- "It was a far cry from the traditional Hawaiian feast, which always included the beloved poi, a purplish paste made from pounded taro root […]."
- "Warriors formerly used poi actions to maintain wrist flexibility, but poi have developed as a women's dance. Classic poi dances and songs are reputed to have been those of the people of the Taranaki, Rotorua, and Whanganui tribal areas, but poi are now performed everywhere in Aotearoa."
- "A couple of days later Trico announced that, if I were to travel with them, it was imperative that I learn some form of malabares, or circus skill. The available options were poi, staff or juggling. ‘Poi’, the form of malabares that Sandra played, are two balls at the end of chains which are spun in patterns around the body. When the balls are replaced by wicks soaked in gasoline and set alight, the poi ‘spin fire’."
- "These POIs are usually visualized as icons (e.g., push pins, markers in Google Maps) in a base map, with some multimedia information—mostly text, images, and videos—attached to the icons (Haklay et al., 2008)."
Etymology
Word Breakdown
- Root: poi
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɔɪ/
- British English: /pɔɪ/