[yoo-kuh-ley-lee; Hawaiian. oo-koo-ley-ley] 
| a small, guitarlike musical instrument associated chiefly with Hawaiian music. |
| u·ke·le·le (yōō'kə-lā'lē, ōō'kə-) n. Variant of ukulele. |
| u·ku·le·le or u·ke·le·le (yōō'kə-lā'lē, ōō'kə-) n. A small four-stringed guitar popularized in Hawaii. [Hawaiian 'ukulele : 'uku, flea + lele, jumping.] The word ukulele is one of a small stock of Polynesian borrowings into American English. Other Hawaiian words now common in American English are aloha (a greeting or farewell) and luau (an outdoor picnic usually featuring a whole barbecued pig). Haole, a word common in Hawaii itself but not well known on the American mainland, is the Hawaiian word for a white person. |