ooaa

English

Alternative forms

• o-o-a-a, o-o-aa

Etymology

From Hawaiian ʻōʻōʻāʻā.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoʊˌoʊˌɑːˌɑː/, /ˌoʊˌoʊˈɑːˌɑː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

ooaa

1. Any member of the extinct species †Moho braccatus of oo birds of Hawaii.
   • 1985, Graham Bateman, Songbirds, page 102:

     Only the ooaa still lives in the forests of Hawaii, feeding on insects and some nectar.

   • 1986, Norris McWhirter, Guinness Book of World Records 1986, page 75:

     The strongest contenders [for rarest bird] […] must be the Ooaa (Moho braccatus) of Kauai, Hawaii, which was down to a single pair in 1980 […]

Hypernyms

• oo

References

• “ooaa”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• James A. H. Murray et al., editors (1884–1928), “Ooaa”, in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC.