2. (modifier) white, clean, faded, pale.
Mehemea he paru te paraihe, ka hē te māhunga mā (TTT 1/4/1923). / If the brush is dirty the clean hair will be contaminated.
mā
1. (verb) by way of, go via - an unusual usage of mā as a verb followed by a locative.
Nō te taenga ki te wahapū o Wirameta, i te taha mauī o Koramia, ka mā roto o te awa, tae noa ki te motu o Wapato. / On reaching the mouth of the Willamette, on the left side of the Columbia, we ascended the stream, right to Wappatoo Island.
See also rā
-mā-
1. (particle) Used to join two compass points to indicate a direction midway between the two, e.g. tonga-mā-uru south-west.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 113;)
Kei te uru-mā-raki o Te Waipounamu a Ahitereiria. / Australia is north-west of the South Island.
See also tonga-mā-uru, tonga-mā-rāwhiti, hauāuru-mā-tonga
2. (particle) by, made by, acted on - mā combines with e to form a future tense emphasising who or what will do the action, sometimes called the actor emphatic. This grammatical construction is only used with transitive verbs, not with intransitive verbs, with statives (neuter verbs), or with verbs in the passive.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 65; Te Kākano Study Guide (Ed. 1): 41-42;)
Synonyms: nā
3. (particle) Used with hei to show relationships.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 54;)
4. (particle) by way of, via, through.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 47-48; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 66;)
5. (particle) by means of, on - followed by runga.
Haere ai tō mātau pāpā ki tana mahi mā runga hōiho (HP 1991:27). / Our father went to his work by horseback.
See also mā hea
6. (particle) Used in names for the points of the compass.
He aha rawa te hau e pupuhi mai nei? He marangai mā tonga. / What is the wind that's blowing? It's a south-easterly.
See also marangai-mā-raro, raki-mā-rāwhiti, uru-mā-raki
mā
1. (particle) and others, and company, and the rest - a word used after names of people, wai and mea, and terms of address, to indicate the inclusion of others whom it is not necessary to specify. With terms of address it merely indicates the plural. It is incorrect to use it after nouns, except when they are being used as a term of address.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 2, 13;)
mā raro
1. by foot, on foot.
He pōharuharu te huarahi. Mā runga hōiho, mā raro tonu rānei ka taea te haere (HP 1991:24). / The road was boggy. It could only be travelled by horse or on foot.
See also mā
kaua mā
1. it's not for - there are numerous variations possible with this, e.g. kaua (e tukua) mā ..., kaua e (waiho) mā .... This is used particularly for commands and instructions. Kauaka may replace kaua.
Ā taihoa, mā te katoa o te whānau e whakatau, kaua mā Tītaha anake (HKK 1999:107). / Hang on a minute, it's for the whole family to decide, not for Tītaha alone.
Whakahokia mai tā mātou kupu e mea atu nei kia mutu atu tēnei Kōti, kaua e tukua mā te kino e whakamutu, engari, māu, māku e whakamutu i runga i te rangimārietanga (TW 22/6/1878:316). / Let's go back on our suggestion that this Court should end, don't let ill will put an end to it, but it is for you and me to conclude it in peace.
kāore mā
1. not for (someone to do) - there are numerous variations possible with this, e.g. kāore (e tika ana) mā ..., kāore i/e (waiho) mā ....
He mahi tērā mā te pakeke, kāore (e tika ana) mā te tamariki (HJ 2012:159). / That task is for adults, it's not (appropriate) for children.
Ko te tīkaro ake i te pūngitangita ka mau atu ki te waewae, he mahi mā te kanohi hōmiromiro, kāore mā te pura (HJ 2012:159). / Extracting thistles from the foot is a task for a sharp-eyed person, not for someone of poor eyesight.
mā hea
1. by what means? by what way? via where?.
(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 47-48; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 66;)
See also mā hea mai/atu ...?, ai
2. (numeral) twelfth, 12th (following te).
ngahuru mā tahi
1. (numeral) be eleven, eleventh (when following te).
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 12;)
See also tekau mā tahi
2. (noun) eleventh lunar month of the Māori year - approximately equivalent to April.
Atutahi mā Rehua
1. (personal noun) Canopus with Antares - Canopus is the second brightest star in the sky, Antares is the brightest star in the constellation Scorpius and the one associated with summer. Despite this, Atutahi mā Rehua often refers just to Canopus. Also as Autahi mā Rehua.
Atutahi mā Rehua: He whetū ēnei. He whetū kē a Atutahi (ko Autahi ki ētahi, ā ko ētahi ingoa ōna ko Kauanga, ko Paepaepoto); he whetū kē a Rehua. Ahakoa kei te karapiti i konei tōna aronga ko Atutahi anake. He reo tahito te ‘mā’, kei te mau i ērā wāhi o te reo Māori, ‘tekau mā tahi’, ‘tekau mā rua’, etc.; kua taka hei ‘me’ i muri nei (M 2004:16). / Canopus with Antares: Atutahi or Canopus, also called Autahi, and whose other names were Kauanga, Paepaepoto. It was one star, and Rehua or Antares another star. Despite this it signified only Canopus. 'Mā' is an archaic form, still retained in the numerals, as ‘tekau mā tahi’, ‘tekau mā rua’, etc. but the modern equivalent is ‘me’.
See also Autahi
mā te aha
1. well it was alright, better than nothing, at least that's something - an idiom used to express the opinion that something isn't as good as is being claimed.
He rawe te tuhinga a Hohepa? Mā te aha - me mihi ki tana kaha. / Is Joe's essay excellent? Well, it's alright - ten points for effort.
