Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Hawaii A Hawaiian of Polynesian ancestry; a Native Hawaiian. Often used disparagingly.
- noun Australian & New Zealand A South Sea Islander, especially one brought to Australia as a laborer in the 1800s and 1900s. Often used disparagingly.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A Hawaiian or Sandwich Islander. Also Kanacha, Kanaker, Kanak.
- noun One of the brown laborers brought from the Pacific islands, on a three years' agreement, and largely employed in northern Queensland, especially on the sugar-plantations.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Also, at the moment of delivering each kick, he called the Kanaka a black heathen.
The Heathen 1910
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Also, at the moment of delivering each kick, he called the Kanaka a black heathen.
THE HEATHEN 2010
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Also, at the moment of delivering each kick, he called the Kanaka a black heathen.
The Heathen 1914
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Also, at the moment of delivering each kick, he called the Kanaka a black heathen.
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As the plantations in Queensland increased, they required more labourers than were willing to leave their homes in the South Sea Islands; and, as the captains of vessels were paid by the planters a certain sum of money for every "Kanaka" they brought over, there was a strong temptation to carry off the natives by force, when, by other means, a sufficient number could not be obtained.
History of Australia and New Zealand From 1606 to 1890 George Sutherland 1880
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This name, "Kanaka," they answer to, both collectively and individually.
Two years before the mast, and twenty-four years after: a personal narrative 1869
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* The word 'Kanaka' is at the present day universally used in the South
Typee Herman Melville 1855
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This name, "Kanaka," they answer to, both collectively and individually.
Two Years Before the Mast Richard Henry Dana 1848
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Percival Ford looked at the Kanaka half-breed who played under the hau tree, and it seemed, as by some illumination, that he was gazing on a wraith of himself.
The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii:The House of Pride 2010
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From the masthead, across the palm-fringe, a Kanaka announced the lagoon and a small island in the middle.
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