dovu

See also: dovù and dövü

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central Pacific *tovu, from Proto-Oceanic *topu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tobu, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *təbu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *təbuh, from Proto-Austronesian *təbuS.

Noun

dovu

1. sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum)

   Era gunu dovu tiko na gone.

   The children are chewing sugar cane.

Usage notes

Sugar cane was introduced to and traditionally used in Fiji for thatching rather than sugar production; however, modern commercial varieties are commonly chewed as a sweet snack, especially by younger generations.

Derived terms

• dovu kama (“brown sugar”)
• gunu dovu (“to chew and suck sugar cane”)
• qaqi ni dovu (“sugar mill”)
• sitima ni dovu (“sugar cane train”)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “dovu”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[1], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 70