Hapa - Etymology

Etymology

The term hapa comes from a Hawaiian Pidgin word that denotes a part or fragment of something, itself a loan from the English word half. When applied to people, this denotes that such people are of mixed descent. Mary Pukui and Samuel Ebert's Hawaiian Dictionary define hapa as: "of mixed blood, person of mixed blood as in hapa hawaiʻi, part Hawaiian." The word hapa has moved into mainland English.

Used without qualification, hapa is often taken to mean "part White," and is short hand for hapa haole. The term can be used in conjunction with other Hawaiian racial and ethnic descriptors to specify a particular racial or ethnic mixture. Examples of this include:

• hapa haole (part Caucasian/white).
• hapa kanaka (part Native Hawaiian).
• hapa ʻInikiki ʻAmelika (part Native American).
• hapa popolo (part African/black).
• hapa kepani (part Japanese); the term hapanese and "hafu" are also encountered.
• hapa pilipino (part Filipino).
• hapa pake (part Chinese).
• hapa kolea (part Korean).
• hapa kamoa (part Samoan).
• hapa (hi)sepania (part Spanish/white and Latino).
• hapa pukiki (part Portuguese/white).

Pukui states that the original meaning of the word haole was "foreigner". Therefore, all non-Hawaiians can be called haole. In practical terms, however, the term is used as a racial description with the specific exclusion of Portuguese. Portuguese were traditionally considered to be a separate race in Hawaii.

Hapa-haole also is the name of a type of Hawaiian music in which the tune and styling are typically Hawaiian, but the lyrics are in English or mostly in English.