vudi

Bola

Noun

vudi

1. banana

   Miri kani a vudi ― The two of us are eating bananas.

References

• René van den Berg and Brent Wiebe, Bola Grammar Sketch, p. 57

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central Pacific *vudi, from Proto-Oceanic *pudi, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *punti, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *punti, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *punti, from Proto-Austronesian *punti.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvu.ⁿdi/

Noun

vudi

1. plantain, true plantain (Musa × paradisiaca)

   Synonym: vudi dina

   Au vakasaqa na vudi.

   I boil the plantain.

   E rui na vudi kevaka e kurukuru.

   The plantain splits/cracks if there's thunder.

2. (by extension) banana (yellow fruit of the genus Musa)

Usage notes

• Plantains are primarily eaten cooked as a starch food, often as sweetened pudding with coconut cream in coastal areas.
• The leaves are traditionally used as improvised mats, umbrellas or when stripped into sections, for traditional skirts.

Derived terms

• solevudi (“banana variety”)
• vocia vakavudi (“to do something very easily/quickly”, literally “to peel like a plantain”) (idiom)
• vudi dina (“true plantain”)
• vudi vula (tall plantain variety with plump fruit)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “vudi”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[1], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 308