Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

uku

1. (verb) to wash (using clay for soap).

Ka haere a Marutūāhu ki te uku i tōna māhunga ki te wai, hoki mai, e heru ana (NM 1928:115). / Martūāhu went to wash his hair with water and returned to comb it.

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2. (noun) clay, white clay.

Ka oti, ka pania ki te uku a waho, kei puta atu te wai ki a ia (JPS 1904:92). / When it was completed it was plastered with clay, so the water might not get in.

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3. (noun) pottery.

He kura ukiuki te mahi uku nō Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Nō te taenga ki Aotearoa ka ngaro i te Māori ēnei pūkenga. Nō te tekau tau 1950 kātahi anō ka tīmata anō te whakamiha atu ki ngā mahi uku i ngā mahi a ngā iwi taketake o Amerika (Te Ara 2017). / Pottery making was an ancient Pacific practice. By the time the Māori reached New Zealand they had lost these skills. From the 1950s Māori artists began making pottery again, drawing inspiration from the work of the native peoples of America.

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Synonyms: taonga uku, pereti, matapaia


4. (noun) soap.

uku

1. (noun) ally, supporting tribe.

Ko ngā hōia tauwhāinga o te pakanga o 1845-46 i Te Tai Tokerau ko Kawiti rāua ko Heke ki ngā hōia o Peretānia me ōna uku Māori (TTR 1990:34). / The northern war of 1845-46 involved the forces of Kawiti and Heke against British troops and Māori allies.

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uku

1. (noun) rough skate, Zearaja nasuta - a medium-sized skate with thick, muscular pectoral fins. Brownish to greyish, sometimes olive, usually with many white spots. endemic to Aotearoa/New Zealand waters, usually at depths of 60-600 m.

See also whai

Synonyms: waewae, pākaurua, whai

mahi uku

1. (verb) to make pottery.

He kura ukiuki te mahi uku nō Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Nō te taenga ki Aotearoa ka ngaro i te Māori ēnei pūkenga. Nō te tekau tau 1950 kātahi anō ka tīmata anō te whakamiha atu ki ngā mahi uku i ngā mahi a ngā iwi taketake o Amerika (Te Ara 2017). / Pottery making was an ancient Pacific practice. By the time the Māori reached New Zealand they had lost these skills. From the 1950s Māori artists began making pottery again, drawing inspiration from the work of the native peoples of America.

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kōmiri uku

1. (noun) moulding clay.

Ko te kōmiri uku, arā, ka kinikinitia te uku, ka pēhia, ka kōtēngia, ka kōmiria kia puta ai te āhua e hiahiatia ana. Mēnā he ipu te hua o tēnei tikanga mahi, ka kīia he ipu kiniuku (RTA 2014:198). / Moulding clay, that is, the clay is pinched, pressed, squeezed and rubbed so that the desired form is achieved. If the result of this process is a pot, that is called a pinch pot.

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taonga uku

1. (noun) claywork, pottery.

Hei te mutunga o te wiki whakapakatia ai ā tātou taonga uku (RTA 2014:212). / At the end of the week our pottery will be fired.

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Synonyms: uku, pereti, matapaia

one-uku

1. (noun) clay.

Ka kore kai ngā kaiwhakangungu o te pā, ka kōhuatia te one-uku i roto i te pā (TTR 1990:327). / The defenders of the pā became desperately short of food and cooked the clay to be found in the pā.

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toa tārai uku

1. (loan) (noun) pottery shop.

okouku

1. (noun) crockery.

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