kalua

Where does the word "kalua" come from? It comes from Hawaiian kalua, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Kalua’s story begins in Hawaiian: kalua meant “to cook in an underground oven.” Literally to cook in an underground oven, a traditional method using heated stones. It reached English by 1900s as kalua. Cooked in an 'imu', an underground oven, the centrepiece of a Hawaiian luau. Today, kalua means a traditional Hawaiian cooking method using an underground oven, or food prepared this way.

1. Stage 1 · Hawaiian · ancient kalua "to cook in an underground oven", literally to cook in an underground oven, a traditional method using heated stones.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s kalua "food cooked in a traditional Hawaiian underground oven", cooked in an 'imu', an underground oven, the centrepiece of a Hawaiian luau.