SOURCE 01supportshistorical dictionary
Taboo — Word History
Names the actual English donor.
Word History — Tongan tabu- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗CLAIM / COUNTERCLAIM / LIMITRECORD 171
DISPUTE
RECORD.
One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
resolvedestablished
Did Hawaiian kapu directly give English taboo?
No. English taboo is traced to Tongan tabu. Hawaiian kapu is a cognate reflex whose resemblance reveals family history, not the borrowing event.
WORD UNDER REVIEWDISPUTE 171
kapu
/ˈka.pu/ · adjective · noun · verb
A Hawaiian word for what is prohibited, sacred, consecrated, or set apart, continuing the Oceanic tapu family through the characteristic Hawaiian *t to k sound change.
01
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
3 SOURCES WITH A STANCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
SOURCE 02contexthistorical dictionary
Kapu — Nā Puke Wehewehe ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
Documents the Hawaiian word without claiming English descent.
Historical kapu entries- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Lorrin Andrews et al.
- YEAR
- 1836
- PUBLISHER
- University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo · Ulukau
SOURCE 03contextcomparative lexicon
TAPU [OC] — Prohibited, under ritual restriction, taboo
Distinguishes cognate reflexes from the borrowing channel.
Hawaiian and Tongan reflexes- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Simon J. Greenhill · Ross Clark · Bruce Biggs
- YEAR
- 2010
- PUBLISHER
- Polynesian Lexicon Project Online · Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
02 / EDITORIAL STATE
THE CURRENT RECORD IS RESOLVED.
- CONFIDENCE
- established
- STATUS
- resolved
- LEGACY SOURCE SUMMARY
- Merriam-Webster identifies Tongan while POLLEX distinguishes the Hawaiian reflex.
Connection without direct descent is made explicit.