'tapu' definitions:

Definition of 'tapu'

From: GCIDE
  • Taboo \Ta*boo"\, a. [Written also tabu and tapu.] [Polynesian tabu, tapu, sacred, under restriction, a prohibition.] Set apart or sacred by religious custom among certain races of Polynesia, New Zealand, etc., and forbidden to certain persons or uses; hence, prohibited under severe penalties; interdicted; as, food, places, words, customs, etc., may be taboo. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]