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DictionarypoiHawaiian taro dish
noun

poi

POY/pɔɪ/

A Hawaiian food made from pounded taro root.

The smooth poi is shown beside taro used to prepare it.

A close-up bowl of smooth grayish-lavender poi, paired with a taro corm and a small preparation board showing cooked taro mashed into the same paste.
Etymology
poiHawaiianfood made from taro root

Hawaiian poi already named food made from taro root. English retained that specific food meaning rather than adapting a more general term.

In context

TheCoconetTV0:08
what POI is and how to make [Music] it so PO is the ancestral staple food of the Hawaiian people
How To: Make Hawaiian Poi

More examples

  • She watched the taro being pounded into poi.
  • The poi had a smooth, thick consistency.
  • The host explained the traditional preparation of poi.

Forms

poi