Fijian-English Dictionary - eCommons@Cornell - Cornell University

FIJIAN – ENGLISH DICTIONARY R. GATTY
bativou (Idiom) adj., n. person who prefers green fruit rather than fruit that is fully mature. This is fairly
common in Fiji. By extension, a person who is attracted to younger people of the opposite sex, usually
said of men who are attracted to younger women. vou new.
bau 1. a word that can have several meanings: just (or) indeed. A modifier that adds decisiveness or
affirmation in a very polite form by softening a statement or request. Au sa bau lako. I'll just go; e
dua bau just one. Sa bau vakacava na teitei? Just how is the garden? A cava sa bau tukuna na
boso? Just what did the boss say? O bau wili kina o iko. You are definitely included. There can an
implication of once or ever, or in the negative, not once, never. O sa bau cakava? Have you ever done
it? Au a sega ni bau rogoca na yacana. I have never heard his/her name. Au a sega sara ni bau moce
ena bogi koya. I did not sleep at all that night.
bau, bauta 2. v. to accompany, supportively, to do something, go somewhere together.
vakabau v. supported, approved.
vakabauta v. to believe in a supportive sense.
bau 3. (Colo East) v. to go. Au sa bau I'm going. veibauyaki go here and there. Syn. (Bau) lako.
bau 4. n. sp. of tree, Pittosporum brackenridgei, useful timber, fruit eaten as a snack.
bau 5. n. small riverine fish, Ophieleotris aporos, Eleotridae, a significant food in the Viti Levu
highlands. Syn. ika bau, kaqa, sika. (Waidina) tauci.
baubau n. a Fijian sickness, believed caused by spirits or witchcraft; generally failing health, weakness,
confused thoughts. Baubau happens to be a name associated with the mother of Cakobau, the name of
her house-site on Bau Island. It is also an old place-name in the Tailevu mainland. See drimi.
baunova (or) baudova (Eng.) v. bound over by court, with conditional suspended sentence for minor
offenses.
bausa (Eng.) n. bowser. petrol station, gas station (U.S.A).
bausi (Eng.) n. purse, wallet.
bauta v. to recognise, realise, acknowledge some quality or characteristic.
bau vudi n. tree, Palaqium spp. and Burckella sp., Sapotaceae, timber often used to make punts.
bavelo n. simple dug-out canoe, made from one log with no outrigger, still occasionally used in the
highland rivers, as well as coastal areas, and smaller islands.
ba via n. an old traditional variety of taro, much favoured still, with yellowish coloured flesh, excellent
taste and pleasantly chewy texture wadrega vinaka.
bavulu n., adj. (Eng. “bloody fool”) dopey, bavulu levu really dopey. Bauan doce. This expression is
by now perhaps somewhat archaic.and also a rather low-class expression.
bawara n. spathe (unopened flower shoot) of coconut palm, also the dried calyx, the outer sheath of the
spathe, used as torch in walking outdoors at night. (Viti Levu highlanders, having no coconuts, more
normally used bamboo for torches at night.) Gilbertese but not Fijians have known the art of making
alcohol, a type of arrack, from unopened spathes. It is shaved thinly at the tip each day and the juice
drips into a small container. A plant rich in tannin may be used to arrest fermentation. A “wine” can be
produced, or a strong alcohol.
Idiom: basu bawara of a person, to break free, break out from contraints such as discipline at home,
village, or military. A spathe bursts open as it dries and matures, and reveals its flowers.
be adj., n. stubborn self-will and judgmental nature. dau be stubbornly negative.
bebe ni gusu-na n. lips (of the mouth). Syn. tebe ni gusu.
bebe n. moth, butterfly (pronounced with both vowels prolonged).
bebe n. vagina. Syn. maga-na. Words not normally pronounced but maga! may be heard in swearing,
expressing sudden disappointment, as with the French exclamation “merde!”. Syn. (Vanua Levu) ele.
See manene.
beca (or) beci adj., v. to disrespect, look down on something or someone. kakua ni dau veibeci don’t
look down on people. na nona vosa beca baleti au. his disdainful words about me.
becerui apparently agreeable but in fact uncooperative.
becuru n. eyebrow. Syn. vacu-na.
beitaka v. to accuse, blame. viribeibei blames others.
veibeitaki n. accusation.
dauveibeitaki n. prosecutor (court).
Beika n. surname of Thomas Baker, Methodist missionary killed in interior Viti Levu 1867. He is
referred to as Misi Beika. A main hall is named Baker Hall,
Beika Olo at the Methodist School, Davuilevu. Misi Peka may be a preferred spelling.
beka perhaps, maybe. vakabeka-taka v. to doubt (something).
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