HRS §1-14
Words have usual meaning
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗This section says that when reading a law, you should use the everyday, common meaning of its words, not a strict or technical grammar-based meaning. It is a general rule about how to interpret laws.
everyone
The statute, as written — Words have usual meaning
A copy, taken August 20, 2026. The version published by the Legislature is the one that governs, and it may have changed since. Check it before relying on anything here.
The words of a law are generally to be understood in their most known and usual signification, without attending so much to the literal and strictly grammatical construction of the words as to their general or popular use or meaning. [CC 1859, §9; RL 1925, §9; RL 1935, §10; RL 1945, §9; RL 1955, §1-17; HRS §1-14]
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