Re: Another look at the Hawaiian meaning of Lua

[Bertrand Mansion <lua@...>]

On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 8:34 PM, Bertrand Mansion <lua@mamasam.net> wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 8:25 PM, Bertrand Mansion <lua@mamasam.net> wrote:
>> On Tue, Mar 3, 2009 at 7:32 PM, KHMan <keinhong@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Stefan Sandberg wrote:
>>>>
>>>> As far as I know, 'lua' became slang for restroom in hawaii after
>>>> portuguese explorers used it to ask for the bathroom,
>>>> hinting at the carving of a crescent moon often decorating the door.
>>>>
>>>> No idea where the origins of the martial art comes from though, but I
>>>> doubt it's related, no :)
>>>
>>> [Sorry in advance if this is getting to OT]
>>>
>>> In the old days, outhouses are huts that have a hole in the ground. Hole ==
>>> lua. Why would anyone carve a crescent moon on the door of an outhouse?
>>> Mythology around the Pacific had a lot to say about 'princesses on the moon'
>>> kind of myths, so it is highly unlikely one would do something so negative
>>> as to associate a crescent moon with an outhouse. Also there is no intuitive
>>> match in meaning from crescent moon to outhouse.
>>>
>>> Are you sure someone wasn't pulling your leg? :-) Some independent
>>> confirmation of the story would be a good thing.
>>
>> Lua means hole or pit in Hawaiian. I guess Hawaiians, like many other
>> people, use holes for toilets, so if you want to go to the toilets
>> there, you ask for the hole. It doesn't mean lua means toilets... It
>> has nothing to do with the Portuguese crescent moon although that made
>> me laugh :)
>>
>> <http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?c=andrew&a=p&p=frameset&p2=search&p3=word&r=1&t=0&q=lua&summarise=1&l=en&w=utf-8&t=1>
>
> Actually, I have found a definition that fits Lua perfectly, even in Hawaiian:
>
> LU-A, s. See LUA, adj. A second; an equal; an assistant; a copy of a
> writing. Kanl. 17:18.
>
> Doesn't this sound like the perfect embedded language :)
>
> <http://ulukau.org/elib/cgi-bin/library?e=q-0andrew-000Sec--11en-50-20-frameset-search-lua-1-011utfZz-8&a=p&p=frameset&d=D0.3.8.31&toc=0>

Sorry for the flood, but for the sake of completeness, this one gives
all the definitions:

<http://wehewehe.org/gsdl2.5/cgi-bin/hdict?e=q-0hdict--00-0-0--010---4----den--0-000lpm--1en-Zz-1---Zz-1-home-lua--00031-0000escapewin-00&a=q&d=D11477>