2. (transitive verb) stand down.
whakawātea
1. (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to clear, free, dislodge, purge, get rid of.
E pai ana i te wā e ora tonu ana a Te Urukehu, nō tōna matenga kua kore he tohunga whakawātea i a mātau. Nō reira ia i haere ai ki a Nīao Ngāheu kia whakawāteatia ērā āhuatanga i runga i a mātau (EM 2002:122). / It was fine during the time that Te Urukehu was alive, but when he died there was no longer a tohunga to clear us . For that reason he went to Nīao Ngāheu to clear us of those things that were afflicting us.
2. (verb) (-ngia,-tia) to excuse, make way for, exempt.
He mea hākiki ki a Te Puea te whakakāhoretanga a te kāwanatanga kia whakawāteatia a Korokī i te whakahau kia rēhita ia i raro i te Ture Penihana o 1938 (TTR 1996:48). / It was offensive to Te Puea that the government would not exempt Korokī from the necessity to register under the Social Security Act of 1938.
3. (modifier) freeing, removing, clearing.
I roto i ngā tau mai i 1850, i tautoko pea ia i te kaupapa o te Kaingārara, he tikanga whakawātea tēnei i ngā wāhi e mōhiotia ana he tapu (TTR 1990:312). / In the 1850s he probably supported the Kaingārara movement, which aimed to remove tapu from places known to be invested with spiritual power.
4. (noun) clearing, freeing, expunging, purging, removal.
Ko tētahi hoki o ōna whakaaro ko te whakawātea i te marae i te tapu (EM 2002:207). / Another of his ideas was the removal of tapu from the marae.
Synonyms: peinga
5. (noun) exit, exit song, exit item - a term used for the final item of a traditional performing arts competition during which the performing group retreats from the stage.
Nā Poia Rewi te whakawātea a tō mātou rōpū i tito. / Poia Rewi composed our group's exit item.
