tapairu
1. (noun) chieftainess, first-born female in a high-ranking family.
Ka rua ngā take i kōrerotia e ia, arā, ko te whakahaere me te whakaotinga atu i te whare nui, i a Māhinārangi i Tūrangawaewae marae, me tana whakahua i te tauwhāingatanga o Tūrongo rāua ko tana tuakana, ko Whatihua, oti atu ki te moenga o Tūrongo i a Māhinārangi, he tapairu nō Te Tai Rāwhiti (TTR 1998:72). / He discussed two matters, namely the planning and completion of the meeting house, Māhinārangi, on the marae at Tūrangawaewae and his retelling of the rivalry of Tūrongo and his elder brother, Whatihua, ending in Tūrongo's marriage to Māhinārangi, the East Coast chieftainess.
2. (noun) Kirk's tree daisy, Brachyglottis kirkii - an epiphyte or ground shrub to 3 m tall found in forests throughout the North Island. It has variable soft leaves with shallowly toothed margins. The white daisies are showy in spring.
See also kohurangi
