menehune

Etymology

From Hawaiian menehune.

menehune means A member of a hidden race in Hawaiian mythology, often described as very small and having magical powers. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “menehune” is a great word

MENEHUNE — [Noun] A member of a legendary, diminutive race in Hawaiian mythology, said to be masterful nocturnal builders whose architectural feats are imbued with preternatural skill. From Hawaiian *menehune*, possibly from an earlier Polynesian term; some sources suggest a connection to Tahitian *manahune*, meaning 'small power' or 'commoner'. Unlike the leprechaun, a solitary trickster guarding his hoard, or the dwarf, a figure of metallurgy and European mountains, the menehune are a communal people of the Pacific, bound to the stone and soil of the islands. They are the silent click of adze against basalt in the moonlit forest, the causeway that appears between cliffs by dawn, and the perfectly fitted hewn blocks of a forgotten fishpond—a whispered testament that the most enduring works are those whose makers remain unseen.

noun

A member of a hidden race in Hawaiian mythology, often described as very small and having magical powers.