Ukulele — Lexography

Journey of meaning

2 forms

.explorer{display:none}

The ukulele journey, in text

The interactive controls need JavaScript. This complete reading remains available.

ʻukulele · Hawaiian
noun · Hawaiian
Reading: oo-koo-LEH-leh
A Hawaiian word analyzed as “leaping flea”; later the instrument name.. A Hawaiian word analyzed as “leaping flea”; later the instrument name.
No secure word-specific date — Historical and lexical sources were checked, but the inspected evidence does not supply a secure dated witness for this displayed source-stage form. The map and reading are retained without manufacturing chronology.
Hawaiʻi / Polynesia — A supported language, speech, community or historical-reference region; not a precise lexical birthplace or borrowing point.
The entry gives Hawaiian ʻukulele and analyzes it as ʻuku “louse, flea” plus lele “fly, jump, leap.” ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
English ukulele is dated to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele; the entry separately notes an earlier English use of the Hawaiian word for “flea.” ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
ukulele: The source-language form and conventional reading are retained at the inspected dictionary scope. headword and pronunciation section
ukulele: Hawaiʻi / Polynesia is retained as a supported language, speech, community or historical-reference region, not as a precise word birthplace. headword and language/reference scope
ukulele: The retained route, sense boundaries and unresolved alternatives follow the existing inspected source account and the Batch 02 editorial risk note. ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
ukulele · English
noun · English
Reading: yoo-kuh-LAY-lee
A small Hawaiian stringed instrument.. A small Hawaiian stringed instrument.
c. 1896 · English ukulele — Reported first-use context; not necessarily the date of coinage or transmission.
Hawaiʻi / Polynesia — A supported language, speech, community or historical-reference region; not a precise lexical birthplace or borrowing point.
The entry gives Hawaiian ʻukulele and analyzes it as ʻuku “louse, flea” plus lele “fly, jump, leap.” ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
English ukulele is dated to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele; the entry separately notes an earlier English use of the Hawaiian word for “flea.” ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
ukulele: The English headword's conventional reading and selected sense are supported by the inspected dictionary entry. headword, pronunciation and word-history sections
ukulele: Hawaiʻi / Polynesia is retained as a supported language, speech, community or historical-reference region, not as a precise word birthplace. headword and language/reference scope
ukulele: The retained route, sense boundaries and unresolved alternatives follow the existing inspected source account and the Batch 02 editorial risk note. ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections

Relationships

ʻukulele → ukulele: borrowing, documented. The inspected source supports this bounded relationship; the displayed edge does not imply a sound-by-sound reconstruction beyond the cited forms. ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections

Inspect the evidence 6 claims

Open a claim to follow the source and our interpretation.

01The entry gives Hawaiian ʻukulele and analyzes it as ʻuku “louse, flea” plus lele “fly, jump, leap.”
Source
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sectionsOnline Etymology Dictionaryukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The entry dates English ukulele to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele, literally analyzed as ʻuku “flea” plus lele “fly/jump.” It notes that the instrument developed from a Portuguese instrument introduced to Hawaiʻi around 1879; that instrument history is kept separate from the word route.
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Qualification Qualified
The internal “leaping flea” interpretation is presented as the selected source analysis; popular explanations are not added as facts.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
02English ukulele is dated to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele; the entry separately notes an earlier English use of the Hawaiian word for “flea.”
Source
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sectionsOnline Etymology Dictionaryukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The entry dates English ukulele to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele, literally analyzed as ʻuku “flea” plus lele “fly/jump.” It notes that the instrument developed from a Portuguese instrument introduced to Hawaiʻi around 1879; that instrument history is kept separate from the word route.
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Qualification Source-supported
The inspected source supports this bounded lexical statement; it does not establish every use, date or transmission event.
What Lexography infers
Lexography selects this account for the named form or sense; wording and presentation are editorial.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.
03ukulele: The source-language form and conventional reading are retained at the inspected dictionary scope.
Source
ʻukulele — WiktionaryWiktionary contributorsheadword and pronunciation section
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The inspected dictionary entry presents ʻukulele as the source-language or source-tradition form and supplies the conventional reading ʻukulele; the entry is used for lexical form and reading, not as proof of a precise birthplace or first attestation.
headword and pronunciation section
Qualification Source-supported
The form and reading are supported at dictionary scope; the map is a language or community reference rather than a birthplace claim.
What Lexography infers
Lexography uses the inspected source for the displayed form and reading while preserving the limit on origin precision.
Checked 2026-09-20 · revision dictionary entry inspected for form, reading and language/reference scope. new
04ukulele: The English headword's conventional reading and selected sense are supported by the inspected dictionary entry.
Source
ukulele — Merriam-Webster DictionaryMerriam-Websterheadword, pronunciation and word-history sections
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The inspected English dictionary entry supplies the conventional reading yoo-kuh-LAY-lee and the contemporary ukulele sense. Where a first-use date is stated in the existing journey, it remains a lexical record rather than object, practice, biography or institution history.
headword, pronunciation and word-history sections
Qualification Source-supported
The dictionary supports the English reading and sense; lexical dating remains tied to the journey's date evidence.
What Lexography infers
Lexography keeps English reading and lexical chronology separate from the history of the referenced object, practice, institution or person.
Checked 2026-09-20 · revision dictionary entry inspected for English reading and sense. new
05ukulele: Hawaiʻi / Polynesia is retained as a supported language, speech, community or historical-reference region, not as a precise word birthplace.
Source
ʻukulele — WiktionaryWiktionary contributorsheadword and language/reference scope
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The inspected dictionary entry presents ʻukulele as the source-language or source-tradition form and supplies the conventional reading ʻukulele; the entry is used for lexical form and reading, not as proof of a precise birthplace or first attestation.
headword and pronunciation section
Qualification Qualified
The coordinate is an informative reference region at the strongest defensible level available for this bounded journey.
What Lexography infers
Lexography maps a qualified language or community reference and does not convert it into a precise origin claim.
Checked 2026-09-20 · revision dictionary entry inspected for form, reading and language/reference scope. new
06ukulele: The retained route, sense boundaries and unresolved alternatives follow the existing inspected source account and the Batch 02 editorial risk note.
Source
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sectionsOnline Etymology Dictionaryukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Source passage
Source summary · not a quotation
The entry dates English ukulele to 1896 from Hawaiian ʻukulele, literally analyzed as ʻuku “flea” plus lele “fly/jump.” It notes that the instrument developed from a Portuguese instrument introduced to Hawaiʻi around 1879; that instrument history is kept separate from the word route.
ukulele — selected etymology and sense sections · selected etymology and sense sections
Qualification Qualified
Existing route evidence is preserved; cultural, object, institutional and biography history is not silently promoted to lexical ancestry.
What Lexography infers
Lexography enriches the existing journey without adding an unsupported donor, route, date or semantic change.
Checked 2026-09-14. Linked source retains its copyright. Brief original factual paraphrases only; no full article redistributed.