pokai

Malay

Etymology

Cantonese 仆街 (puk1 gaai1, “fall onto street, drop dead, go to hell”), from 仆 (puk1, “fall”) + 街 (gaai1, “street”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: po‧kai

Adjective

pokai (Jawi spelling ڤوکاي)

1. (slang) Having no money; broke

Further reading

• “pokai” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *pookai (compare with Tahitian pōʻai) (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

pokai

1. to wind something in a ball or coil
2. to roll up, to wrap up
3. to surround

   Synonyms: whiwhi, rawe

Noun

pokai

1. ball (of string etc)
2. roll
3. wrap, wrapper

Further reading

• Williams, Herbert William (1917) “pokai”, in A Dictionary of the Maori Language, pages 335-6
• “pokai” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.