Hawaiian Word of the Day: May 12th By Leilani Poli`ahu • May 12, 2020 ShareTweetEmail Our Hawaiian word for today is kī hōʻalu. Kī is the Hawaiian word for “key” and hōʻalu means “to slacken or loosen.” It is the popular Hawaiian term for what in English we call “slack key.” Listen Listening... / 0:30 Tags: HWOTDhawaiianWordShareTweetEmailView the discussion thread.