Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2021 December 13

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December 13

The name "Makai"

I heard makai suleman. He is one of the nadya suleman octuplet But makai is a boy. Makai is originates either japanese or hebrew? according to some sites makai may placed on boy or unisex name. Can be makai a girl name? is there any female person named makai? 2404:8000:1005:555:C0EE:F0EE:B396:6DF3 (talk) 12:05, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

It's rare but it exists as a female name: This page indicates that among girl babies born in the U.S., less than about 10 per million are named Makai each year. --Jayron32 12:13, 13 December 2021 (UTC)

Makai is a common word in Hawaiian. Ma means "toward" or "the way to" or "that way." Kai means "the sea" or "the ocean." So, makai means "towards the ocean." When you are on an island there are two primary directions: towards the mountain or towards the ocean. Use of North, East, South, and West are not as meaningful.

But, that is just one use of the word. In Cantonese, kai is a slang word for "idiot." Because ma has been adopted as slang for "mother," a makai is a rather vulgar insult to older women. Use of makai is not as common as use of kai by itself. Just as in English, it is easier to call someone an asshole instead of calling them an old woman asshole.

In Hebrew, Makai is an older form of the English Michael, which means "Godlike." Just as Michael is a very common name for men in English due to the Biblical usage of the name, Makai is a popular name in Hebrew.

In Japanese, the word makai does appear as a name and as a word to mean something akin to Hell. It is more of a world of evil spirits or evil ghosts than the Biblical concept of Hell. It is unclear if use of Makai as an online name is an attempt to relate to the spirit world meaning or if it is just because the name sounds cool.

So, when you refer to name origins, you have to take into account that two spoken syllables can have origins in multiple languages. These are just four that I know having been stationed in Hawaii and Okinawa and now living next door to a synagogue. If you do more research, I bet you will find makai appear as a word in multiple African and Native American languages, all with very different meanings.

Addition: I just asked an Indian librarian if makai meant anything in Hindi. She said it means corn. 97.82.165.112 (talk) 13:33, 14 December 2021 (UTC)

Late 1920s German aircraft

Moved to WT:AV § Late 1920s German aircraft

Mjroots (talk) 19:41, 13 December 2021 (UTC)