See also: Shaka

English

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The shaka

Etymology

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Origin uncertain. Shaka is not a word in the Hawaiian language, which lacks the /ʃ/ sound.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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shaka (plural shakas)

  1. A greeting gesture in which the thumb and little finger are extended while curling the three middle fingers in a semi-fist. Used to express a variety of positive meanings including "all right", "hello" and "goodbye".
    • 2008 August 10, “Obama: At Home in the Islands”, in New York Times[1]:
      Greet someone with the slang, “Howzit?” and say goodbye with a flash of the “shaka” sign (fist closed, thumb and pinky extended) and you have established your credibility with Hawaii natives.
    • 2008 December 27, photo caption, Reuters:
      US President-elect Obama flashes the 'shaka' before he greets a crowd []

Usage notes

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  • Associated with Hawaii and with sports such as surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and skydiving.

Synonyms

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See also

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Anagrams

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Albanian

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Etymology

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From Ottoman Turkish شقا (şaka, joke). Compare Turkish şaka.

Noun

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shaka f (plural shaka, definite shakaja, definite plural shakatë)

  1. joke, prank
    Synonyms: hokë, tallje, shpoti

French

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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shaka

  1. third-person singular past historic of shaker

Japanese

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Romanization

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shaka

  1. Rōmaji transcription of しゃか

Ladino

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Etymology

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From Turkish şaka (joke).

Noun

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shaka f (Latin spelling)

  1. joke (thing said to amuse)

Rwanda-Rundi

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Verb

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-shāka (infinitive gushāka, perfective -shātse)

  1. want
  2. look for, seek

Swahili

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic شَكّ (šakk).

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Noun

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shaka (n class, plural shaka) or shaka (ma class, plural mashaka)

  1. doubt
  2. worry
  3. (computing) error
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Swazi

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English shark.

Noun

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shaka? class 1a (plural boshaka class 2a)

  1. shark

Inflection

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This noun needs an inflection-table template.