The word “luau” comes from the Hawaiian word lūʻau , which literally means the young leaves (tops) of the taro plant, a staple crop in Hawaiʻi.

In traditional Hawaiian feasts, dishes made with taro leaves cooked in coconut milk and often combined with chicken or squid were central to the celebration, and over time the name of this taro-leaf dish became the name for the entire feast itself. Because lūʻau directly refers to the tender leaves of the taro plant, the crop from which the word “luau” originates is taro.

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