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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

matā

1. (noun) flint, quartz, obsidian.

Ko ngā whao i kaha whakamahia mō te tapahi me te waruwaru ko ngā matā tūhua me te whaiapu (Te Ara 2011). / The tools most commonly used for cutting and scraping were sharp flakes of obsidian and chert.

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Synonyms: mātara, matā tūhua, tūhua


2. (noun) lava.

Ko ngā tihi anake kāhore e tauia e te huka. He ahi kei reira e kā ana, e mura ake ana i roto i te whenua. He wā anō ka rere i roto i te maunga, me te matā nei te ahua ana rewa i te ahi. Nā ka mātaotao, ka whakarangitoto (MM.TKM 1/6/1855:8). / Only the top is not covered by snow because there is a fire burning there and it flames up from inside the ground. Sometimes it flows from within the mountain and this is lava when it's melted by the fire. When it cools, it solidifies as scoria.

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Synonyms: tahepuia, rangitoto


3. (noun) bullet, lead, cartridge, cannon ball, shot, shotput.

(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 37;)

Ka huri mātau ki tua o tētahi tau, ka kitea atu e mātau ngā tēneti e mā mai ana me ngā wākena hoki, i te taha mauī o ngā tēneti e tū mai ana ngā pūrepo a te hoariri. Kātahi mātau ka waipūtia mai, ka whakarongo mātau ki te whewheo o ngā matā e rere ana i runga ake i a mātau (TPH 15/1/1900:7). / We rounded a ridge and saw the the white of the tents and the wagons, with the cannons of the enemy standing to the left of the tents. Then we were fired upon and we heard the whistle of the bullets flying over us.

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Synonyms: kaea, whakahaere, ārahi, arataki, huataki, tātaki, , whakataki, kōkiri, whaitaki, takitaki, whakahaere tikanga, taki, konumatā


4. (noun) seashore earwig, Anisolabis littorea - common above high tide on pebble beaches hiding under stones and driftwood.

mata

1. (noun) prophetic song.

Ko ngā ruri, ko ngā mata, ko ngā ngeri, ko ngā haka, ko ngā karakia kāore ēnā i whāwhātia i tēnei wā (M 2004:xx). / Ditties, prophetic songs, chants, posture dances and ritualistic chants have not been dealt with as yet.

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2. (noun) spell, charm, incantation.

Tokorima ngā tāngata o Ngāti Whātua i runga i taua poti i te tahuritanga. E kīia ana ka tata te tahuri, ka tāmomi te kei o te poti, ka tū tētahi o ngā tāngata ki runga, ka karakia i tana mata karakia ka puta te taru nei, te taniwha, tinitini ana tērā te taniwha, ka kawea e rātou te poti ki uta, ka ora ngā tāngata (TWMNT 19/12/1876:292). / There were five people of Ngāti Whātua on that boat when it was capsizing. It is said that when it was about to capsize and the stern of the boat was engulfed, one of the men stood up and when he recited a ritual chant this thing, the taniwha, appeared and a multitude of taniwha conveyed the boat to shore and the people were saved.

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mata

1. (noun) face, countenance, edge, blade, eye, screen (computer), headland, mesh (of a net).

mata i haea ki te uhi matarau (M 2004:256). / Your face was incised with the multi-pointed chisel.

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2. (noun) surface.

I te wā i oti ai ngā mea katoa te hanga i runga i te mata o te whenua i roto i te whenua, i te takiwā, i roto i ngā wai, ka ui atu rātou me pēwhea te whakaputa i te ira tangata ki te ao (TTT 1/6/1924:63). / At the time all things were being created on the face of the land and in the earth, in space and in the waters, they asked how should the human element be created in the world.

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3. (noun) point, tip.

Kei tētahi wāhi o te haki o Aotearoa, ko te tohu o te tieki o Ingarangi, kei tētahi taha ko ngā whetū whero e whā, he tohu mō Te Taki o Autahi, he tātai whetū kei te rangi – he whero te tae o ngā whetū, e rima ngā mata o ia whetū (Te Ara 2013). / One part of the New Zealand flag has the Union flag of the United Kingdom and on another side representing the Southern Cross, a constellation visible in the sky – the stars' colour is red and each star has five points.

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Synonyms: koi, koinga, toi, toitoi, tara, tihi, matū, matamata, tongi, hiku, kūmore, raenga, akitu, paina, ngahu, tāmore

mata

1. (noun) variety of harakeke from Hawke's Bay. Very tall, up to 3 m. Overall bush has a pinkish bronze appearance, as the young leaves have crimson coloured veining along the bronze leaf. Red margin and keel. Rather coarse fibre good for whārikikete, pīkau and pōtae.

mātā

1. (noun) Carex secta - a sedge which grows in raised tufts. Common in swampy areas throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. Grows up to 1 m tall, with weeping, yellowish-green leaves.

See also pūreirei

mātā

1. (noun) pink maomao, Caprodon longimanus - uniformly pink fish with red-orange on the head and pectoral fins edged with pale blue. Body narrow and elongated with a deeply forked tail and long pectoral fins.

See also mātātā

Synonyms: mātātā

Māta

1. (loan) (personal name) Martha.

Ko te māmā o Airini ko Mary Hazel Teripa Tīkao, hei tamāhine mā Teone (Hōne) Taare Tīkao rāua ko tana wahine, ko Māta Hana Tōku Horomona (TTR 2000:63). / Airini's mother was Mary Hazel Teripa Tīkao, a daughter of Hone Taare Tīkao and his wife, Martha Hannah Solomon-Score.

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māta ...

1. you should watch out, you should be careful - an idiom indicating to the listeners that they should be careful what they say or do in case a difficulty arise. Māta starts the sentence and is followed by a verb.

Māta takatakahi koutou i ngā wāhi tapu (HKK 1999:110). / You had better tread carefully in the sacred places.

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mata

1. (verb) to be raw, uncooked, not fully developed, immature, unripe, green, fresh.

Ei, kei te mata tonu te mīti nei. Kei te oreore tonu! (HJ 2012:199). / Hey, this meat is still raw. It's still wriggling!

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2. (modifier) raw, uncooked, not fully developed, immature, unripe, green, fresh.

Kāore he kai maoa o runga i tēnei waka, i a 'Tākitimu', nā te tapu. He kai mata anake (HP 1991:9). / There was no cooked food on this canoe, on Tākitimu, because it was tapu. There was only raw food.

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mātā

1. (noun) heap, layer.

Nā tonu te mātā manu a Tūrei te tiketike (W 1971:185). / Look how high Tūrei's heap of birds is.

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Synonyms: kaupapa, whakapaparanga, kahupapa, apaapa, apa, papanga, paparanga

mātā

1. (noun) fernbird, Bowdleria punctata - a warm brown bird heavily streaked and spotted dark brown with a long frayed tail. Secretive and lives in freshwater and tidal wetlands.

See also mātātā

mata hewa

1. (intransitive verb) to have no eyebrows.

Kua āhua mata hewa nei au, kua ngaro haere ngā huru o aku pewa (HJ 2017:41). / I don't have much in the way of eyebrows, the hair of my eyebrows is disappearing.

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2. (noun) someone without eyebrows.

Ko te pene tuhi tukemata te tino taonga a te mata hewa (HJ 2017:41). / The eyebrow pencil is the prized possession of someone without eyebrows.

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matā korara

1. (noun) shrapnel.

E rua taotūtanga o te tangata nei, kotahi i te pakihiwi, nā te pū raiwhara; kotahi i te waewae, nā te matā korara o te pū mōtā (TWK 14:19). / This man was wounded in two places, one in the shoulder by rifle fire; the other in the leg by shrapnel from mortar fire.

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mata rorohiko

1. (noun) computer screen.

Ko te pikitia: He kupu whānui tēnei mō te whakaahua ka tuhia ki tētahi papa, pērā i te pepa me te mata rorohiko (RTA 2014:204). / Picture: This is a general term for an image drawn on a flat surface, such as paper and a computer screen.

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mata hunahuna

1. (noun) undercover agent.

pito mata

1. (noun) potential - literally the 'uncooked portion'. The uncooked piece of kūmara that can be replanted having the potential to produce many more kūmara.

Iti noa ana, he pito mata (NP 2001:149). / Although it is just small, it is uncooked. (A whakataukī implying that the uncooked portion may sprout to produce many kūmara.)

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Synonyms: torohū

mata ipurangi

1. (noun) media browser, internet browser.

mata kohore

1. (stative) be bleary-eyed, dim sighted.

Ehara te ao Māori i te mata kohore, i te pōrewarewa rānei engari ia he atamai, he ihumanea (TTTT 2006:12). / The Māori world is not bleary-eyed or stupid but intelligent and clever.

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mata rākau

1. (noun) karakia recited over weapons before fighting.

Ko te whare maire he whare mākutu e whakaakona ana ngā tāngata ki reira ki te patu i te tangata, i te kai, i te rākau, i te whenua, me te waewae o te tangata, me te mata rākau o te parekura (WW 1913:10). / The whare maire is a house of witchcraft where men are taught the rituals for destroying people, food, trees, land, spells for retarding a person's footsteps, and spells said over weapons of war.

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matā tūhua

1. (noun) obsidian.

Ko ngā whao i kaha whakamahia mō te tapahi me te waruwaru ko ngā matā tūhua me te whaiapu (Te Ara 2011). / The tools most commonly used for cutting and scraping were sharp flakes of obsidian and chert.

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Synonyms: matā, mātara, tūhua

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