Tabu origin
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The friendly islands (now Tonga) were visited by the English explorer Captain James Cook in 1777, It is in Cook's journals that we find the first recorded use of taboo for something prohibited. Cook had taken it, altering the spelling a little from the Tongan "Tabu", meaning the same. He later lost his life violating a Tabu, being murdered by natives in Hawaii. Etymologist Alfred Holt reported seeing a dead-end street in Honolulu in 1920 that, instead of reading "dead end", bore the sign "Tapu".

Tabu Definition
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adj 1: forbidden to profane use especially in South Pacific islands [syn: taboo] 2: excluded from use or mention; "forbidden fruit"; "in our house dancing and playing cards were out"; "a taboo subject" [syn: forbidden, out(p), prohibited, proscribed, taboo, verboten] n 1: a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature [syn: taboo] 2: an inhibition or ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion [syn: taboo]