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Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

whaimana

1. (verb) to be valid, have status, have a right, have jurisdiction, have authority.

Taro ake, i te whakamanatanga i ngā kaunihera Māori, nā te kāwanatanga o Aotearoa i whakatū ki te kohi i ngā tāke, ka whakakāhoretia e Te Mete me Ngāti Ranginui kia whaimana te Kaunihera Māori o te Takiwā o Mātaatua ki a rātou (TTR 1994:95). / Later, when the Māori councils set up by the New Zealand government were empowered to collect the taxes, Te Mete and Ngāti Ranginui refused to recognise the authority of the Mātaatua District Māori Council over them.

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2. (modifier) valid, legitimate, authentic, of status.

I kite ia i te toi o ngā rangatira me ngā tapairu whaimana o tōna wā (TTR 1994:93). / She saw the notable chiefs and aristocratic women of status of her times.

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Synonyms: tūturu


3. (noun) validity, legality, authority.

I whakaae ngā tāngata i whaiwāhi atu ki te Hui Taumata; 1. Kia tirohia Te Ture mō Te Reo Māori (1987) kia riro mā ngā Māori anō ngā āhuatanga katoa o te reo Māori e whakahaere, kia tino rite te reo Māori ki tō te reo Pākehā te whaimana i ngā wāhi katoa o Aotearoa (HM 4/1996:6-7). / The people who participated in the Summit Meeting agreed that; 1. The Māori Language Act (1987) be reviewed so that Māori themselves manage all aspects of the Māori language and that the Māori language has exactly the same validity in all parts of New Zealand.

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kōripo marama

1. (verb) to have bad weather, have stormy weather, have inclement weather.

Ki Aotearoa tūtaki ai ngā hau mahana, haumākū o te raki ki ngā hau mātao, hau maroke o te tonga. Kāore e rata ēnei hau tētahi ki tētahi; koinā te take e kōripo marama ai ngā rangi (Te Ara 2016). / In Aotearoa/New Zealand, warm moist air from the north meets cold dry air from the south. The winds are not compatible with each other: that's the reason the weather becomes inclement.

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2. (noun) bad weather, stormy weather, inclement weather.

Mēnā ka ua mō te katoa o te rā, ka kīia tērā he kōripo marama. / If it rains for the whole of a day that is called 'kōripo marama'.

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Synonyms: ori, marangai, puhoro, paroro

whai pānga

1. (verb) to have a share, have a place, have an interest.

Ka kōrero te pirihimana e iwa ngā tāngata e whai pānga ana ki tētahi pito whenua i Hakanui (TPH 30/5/1912:5). / The policeman said that nine people had interests in a plot of land at Hakanui.

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See also whaipānga

ngākau reka

1. (verb) to have a positive attitude, have a favourable attitude, have a good attitude.

Ngākau reka ana a Whina i tana kitenga i te kaupapa e whakamahia ana, ā, ko tōna whakaaro ki a Apirana, he tangata titiro whānui, he tangata whakatepe, tino mōhio kē nei ki te mahi ahu whenua (TTR 2000:40). / Whina was favourably impressed when she saw the schemes being carried out, and her opinion of Apirana was that he was a visionary, a practical man with considerable knowledge of farming.

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2. (noun) positive attitude, favourable attitude, good attitude, gratitude.

Kei ana whaikōrero mai i te tau 1936 ki te Whare Pāremata e kitea ai tana koa, tana manawa tau me tana ngākau reka ki te ōritetanga o ngā iwi katoa i roto i ngā ture a te kāwanatanga mō ngā take toko i te ora (TTR 1998:221). / His speeches to parliament from 1936 reflect his joy, relief and gratitude at the racial equality inherent in the government's social welfare legislation.

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mōnehunehu

1. (verb) to be furry, have fine pubescence, have soft down, have a thick short pile.

Te papamōnehu: Whatua ai tēnei papanga ki te kātene, ki te papamāene, ki te ngaiaku rānei. Ka whatua kia tino pipiri ngā kaka, ā, he mōnehunehu tētahi taha (RTA 2014:128). / Velvet: This material is woven with cotton, silk or nylon. It is woven so that the fibres are very close together and one side has a thick short pile.

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2. (modifier) indistinct, fuzzy, hazy, ill-defined, misty, out of focus.


3. (noun) indistinctness, fuzziness, haziness, vagueness.

Nā te ētita i whakatikatika te mōnehunehu o ētahi o ngā kōrero. / The editor corrected the vagueness of some of the account.

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whaipānga

1. (verb) to have a share, have a place, have an interest, possess a claim, possess a right.

Whakatūria ai e te Kōmihana mō ngā Tari Kāwanatanga ēnei wānanga ia marama mō ngā kaimahi kāwanatanga, ko ngā kaupapa e whakahaeretia ana e whaipānga ana ki a rātou (HM 4/1990:1). / The State Services Commission holds these symposiums each month for government employees and the topics scheduled are of interest to them.
Nā tōna whaipānga ki ngā iwi huhua, ka haria mai hoki ō rātau raruraru māna e wānanga, māna hoki e whakatau (TTR 1994:143). / Because of her connections with many tribes, disputes were brought to her to consider and settle.

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See also whai pānga

Synonyms: whaitake

aituā

1. (verb) (-tia) to have a mishap, have a disaster, have an accident.

He aha i aituā pēnei ai? (HP 1991:21) / Why did I have an accident like this?

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2. (modifier) ill-fated, disastrous, calamitous, fateful, unlucky, unfortunate, accidental.

Nō te tākiritanga o tana taha ka oho ake; mōhio tonu he tohu aituā (NIT 1995:313). / When his side twitched he woke up, knowing immediately that it was a bad omen.

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3. (noun) ill omen, trouble, tragedy, calamity, disaster, catastrophe, accident, fatality, misfortune, injustice, death - although often used in modern Māori to mean 'accident', the term traditionally implied that there were reasons for the calamity, including violation of tapu, of mākutu, or some other disturbance of the natural order.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 75-96, 140-153;)

He aituā, engari kua poropititia e ētahi o ngā hīnātore, ka pau i te ahi i taua wā (HP 1991:6). / It was a disaster but it had been prophesied by some of the wise men that it would be destroyed by fire at that time.

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See also Aituā

Synonyms: hauata, maiki, maikiroa, maruaaitu, mate, wairuatoa

kua

1. (particle) has, had, have, will have - a particle used before ordinary verbs and statives denoting that an action is under way or completed, or a state established. It relates to something that has changed from one state to another.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 28; Te Kākano Study Guide (Ed. 1): 19;)

Kua kōwirihia tōna taringa e tana whaea. / His mother has twisted his ear.

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2. (particle) used for a present event if this has just started or is starting right now.

Kua haere tātou! / We're off!

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3. (particle) no longer - used before kore to express the loss, absence, destruction or departure of something.

Kua kore he toa i tēnei tāone ināianei. / There are no shops in this town now.

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See also kua kore

moepuku

1. (verb) to have an illicit relationship, have an affair, fornicate.

Kaua e moepuku, me mārena mārire koutou, ngā rangatira, kia mārama ai tā koutou tiaki i a mātou, i ngā tūtūā (TWMNT 25/5/1875:108). / Do not have illicit relationships, but you, the leaders, should have legitimate marriages so that you may be fit to look after us, the common people.

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2. (modifier) promiscuous, loose, immoral, philandering, licentious.

E kore ahau e whiu i ā koutou tamāhine ina moepuku, i ā koutou wāhine ina pūremu; ko ngā tāne nei hoki he mea wehe atu ki ngā wāhine moepuku, ko rātou tahi ko ngā wāhine kairau kei te mea patunga tapu (PT Hohea 4:14). / I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots.

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Synonyms: tīweka, tangatanga, tatere, tāreparepa, mātangatanga, korokoro, tāngengangenga, tāwēwē, ngoru, hāngengangenga, hūngorungoru, tāngāngā, tangara, tangoro, tītengi, kaewa


3. (noun) illicit relationship, affair, concubinage, whoredom.

He tino taru kino tēnei mea te moepuku mā tātou me ō tātou rangatira (TWMNT 25/5/1875:108). / This practice of illicit relationships is a very bad thing for both ourselves and our chiefs.

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whakaaweawe

1. (verb) (-tia) to place at a distance, out of reach, recede into the distance.

Ka oti te takutaku ka tukua te teka kia rere, kātahi ka rere, whakaaweawe ki runga, aua rawa atu ki runga, kātahi anō ka ahu te uru o te teka ki te whenua, tau noa atu e toru tekau takoto te mataratanga i ā ētahi katoa (JPS 1925:313). / When he had completed the ritual chant he launched the dart and it flew a great distance upwards then the head of the dart turned toward the earth and it fell thirty takoto beyond all the others.

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Synonyms: aweawe


2. (verb) to influence, have an effect on, have an impact on, affect.

E kore tētahi reo o te ao nei e kore e panoni, ka whakaaweawetia mai taua reo rā e te reo e ponitaka ana i taua reo rā, pēnei i a tātau me te reo Pākehā (Kāretu 2015). / There isn't a language of this world that doesn't change and is influenced by the language that surrounds it, as we are with the English language.

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3. (modifier) influential.

Ko te tau i whānau ai a Tāpihana, ko te tau āno hoki i meinga a Paraire hei minita Wēteriana, ā, whāia i muri ake hei āpotoro Rātana whakaaweawe, mema Pāremata atu hoki (TTR 2000:139). / The year that Tāpihana was born was also the year that Paraire became a Methodist minister and later an influential Rātana leader and Member of Parliament.

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4. (noun) influence.

Kei roto i ngā tangi ngā tikanga tuku iho, kāre anō kia rerekē ahakoa te whakaaweawe a te Pākehā (Te Ara 2013). / Traditional practices are maintained in tangi, which have changed little despite Pākehā influence.

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ō tāua

1. (determiner) our(yours and mine and more than one thing) - a possessive determiner.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 52-56;)

Kei hea ō tāua waka rererangi? / Where are our aircraft?

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2. (determiner) we have, you (one person) and I have - when referring to more than one thing.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 108-110;)

He tuākana ō tāua. / You and I have elder sisters.

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3. Used in these ways listed above when the possessor has no control of the relationship or is subordinate, passive or inferior to what is possessed.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 54-56, 140-141;)

punarua

1. (modifier) in pairs, having two wives, having two partners.

Tēnei ka rongo mātou ko te mahi punarua nei e nui haere ana i roto i Ngāti Apa (TWMNT 20/7/1875:162). / We hear that the practice of having two wives is on the increase within Ngāti Apa.

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See also moe punarua


2. (noun) second wife.

Ko Whioroa te wahine punarua (M 2004:152). / Whioroa was the second wife.
Ka tīkina e te tangata nei te wahine hei punarua māna (W 1971:310). / This man procured the woman as his second wife.

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(ka) mahue te ...

1. why didn't [you], [you] should have, could have, could've, instead of, rather than, rather than doing what is right you do something else - an idiom used to criticise someone's thoughtless action, or something that should have been done but was not.

I mākū au i te ua. E hoa e! Ka mahue te hari tāporena. / I got soaked in the rain. Good grief! Why didn't you take a raincoat.
Porowhiua ana e Kui ōna kaka papai tonu ki te rāpihi. Mahue ana te hoatu ki ngā pōhara o tana whānau (HJ 2012:35). / Nan threw her good dresses into the rubbish. She could have given them to the poor of her extended family.
Ka mahue te mihi atu i konei, waiho rawa kia tae rā anō ki reira. / Rather than doing the greeting here, leave it until we finally arrive there.

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kai

1. (verb) to fulfil its proper function, have full play, have full effect.

E whiti, e te rā, e kai ki taku kiri (W 1971:86). / Shine, o sun, have full effect upon my skin.
E kore e mau i a koe he wae kai pakiaka (W 1971:86). / You will not catch feet used to running among tree roots. (A whakataukī stressing the value of experience for success.)

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moemoeā

1. (verb) to have a dream, have a vision.

I te pō o tētahi rangi noa ake ka moemoeā a Kauhika, he whaea nō Te Rangi-kai-kore tēnei, he wahine moemoe hoki taua kuia (JPS 1919:92). / During the night of quite a different day, Kauhika, who was an aunt of Te Rangi-kai-kore, and a dreamer of dreams, had a vision.

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2. (noun) dream, vision.

E kī ana a Te Rauparaha he moemoeā nāna te take i ora ai ia (JPS 1945:70). / Te Rauparaha says that the reason he survived was because of a dream he had.

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whaihua

1. (verb) to have value, have benefits.

Ko Whaanga, he tangata titiro whakamua, ā, me tana hiahia hoki kia whaihua te iwi i roto i ngā mahi hokohoko a te Pākehā (TTR 1990:392). / Whaanga was a person who looked ahead and his desire was that the tribe would have benefits in Pākehā trade.

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See also whai hua


2. (stative) be useful, beneficial, worthwhile, helpful.

porara

1. (verb) to have wide spaces, having interstices.

E porara ana a raro o te kete, i komama ai (W 1971:293). / The bottom of the basket had holes and that's why it leaked.

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poroharore

1. (verb) to have a convex end, have a rounded end - like a mushroom and used to describe the shape of a pestle or pounder.

Ka mahia tērā atu pito o te kuru kia poroharore, kia pai ai te pehu i ngā kai (PK 2008:671). / That other end of the pestle was made to be rounded so that it was suitable for pounding food.

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kirirua

1. (verb) to have a diseased condition of the skin – harsh and chapped skin.

Kua paea ngā pāpāringa, arā kua āhua kirirua, kua pēnei me te pātito (W 1971:271). / The cheeks have become scaly, that is they are somewhat rough like a scalp infection.

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2. (noun) longfin eel, Anguilla dieffenbachii - usually grow up to 1.2 metres long weighting 10 kilograms, but exceptionally can be 2 metres long weighing over 50 kilograms. Females are typically twice as long as males. Body uniform in colour from dark brown to grey-brown dorsally and silvery ventrally. Widespread throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand freshwater ways, except above swift rapids or waterfalls.

manawa piharau

1. (intransitive verb) to have great stamina, have endurance.

Me manawa piharau te tangata e kauria ai e ia Te Moana o Raukawa (HJ 2017:70). / A person who swims Cook Strait must have endurance.

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2. (noun) one of great stamina.

He manawa piharau ngā tāngata i kauria ai Te Hongere Ingarihi. / People who have swum the English Channel are people with stamina.

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Synonyms: manawa tītī

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