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Idioms

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Loan words

Historical loan words

kākā

1. (noun) kākā, Nestor meridionalis - large native forest parrot with olive-brown and dull green upperparts and crimson underparts.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 13;)

He nui te manu hai kai - te kākā, te kōkō, te kererū (HP 1991:28). / There were plenty of birds as food - kākā, tūī and New Zealand wood pigeon.

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Synonyms: kōrī, kōriwhai, tātāapopo, perehere


2. (noun) parrot - a general term for all species of parrots (i.e. kākāpōkākārikikea and kākā).

Kāore e kitea he kākā nui ake i te kākāpō o Aotearoa. He kaha tonu ōna ngutu, ā, he pewa te āhua, pērā tonu i te katoa o ngā momo kākā (HM 4/1998:4). / There is no larger parrot than the kākāpō of New Zealand. Its beak is quite strong and it is curved, just like all parrot species.

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Synonyms: kākāriki

kaka

1. (noun) dress, garment, clothing.

Ko ngā kaka me ngā hīti o te tūroro me pāera katoa (TTT 1/3/1929:951). / The clothes and sheets of the patient should all be boiled.

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kaka

1. (noun) stalk (of a plant).

Ka meatia a waho ki te kaka rauaruhe (W 1971:91). / The outside was made with bracken fern stalks.

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2. (noun) fibre, single hair.

He aruhe pai rawa tēnā, kāhore ōna kaka mārō (W 1971:91). / That is excellent fern root, it does not have tough fibres.

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3. (noun) filament - the part of the stamen that supports the anther.

Ka noho mai te ketehae ki runga i te kaka, ka puta i reira te hae o te tipu (RP 2009:330). / The anther sits on the filament of a flower and the pollen of the plant emerges from there.

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4. (noun) main lines in tā moko.

Ko ngā rārangi matua o te moko, ka kīia ērā ko ngā kaka (RTA 2014:122). / The main lines of tattooing under traditional protocols are called 'kaka'.

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5. (noun) ridge (of a hill, etc.).

Kei runga au kei te kaka e tiro iho ana ki ngā mānia e hōrapa ana i raro (PK 2008:196). / I am on top, on the ridge looking down at the plains spread out below.

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kakā

1. (noun) inflammation.

kakā

1. (stative) be hot, red-hot (e.g. chillies), inflamed.

He mate kakā te kiri, he mea kōtingotingo whero katoa te kiri (TWMNT 26/1/1875:24). / It's an illness where the skin becomes hot and is all spotted red.

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Synonyms: ratarata

kāka

1. (noun) brown bittern, Australasian bittern, Botaurus poiciloptilus - a rare bird living in swamps. Has a bulky, thick neck and is mottled brown and buff for camouflage.

kaka waihanga

1. (noun) man-made fibre.

pūtē kaka

1. (noun) clothes basket.

Whakatakupehia ngā kaka paru ki te pūtē kaka. Tidy the clothes away in the clothes basket. /

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ate kakā

1. (noun) hepatitis.

waewae kākā

1. (noun) carrier tangle, parasol fern, Gleichenia microphylla - fronds erect to about 100 cm high or scrambling to about 200 cm. Stipes red-brown. Found on swampy or poor clay soils and around thermal areas in open scrubland.

ngutu kākā

1. (noun) kākā beak, Clianthus maximus - a many-branched, spreading shrub with clusters of large, bright scarlet flowers. Larger plant than Clianthus puniceus and has glossy leaflets. Now rare in the wild.

kaka kōata

1. (noun) fibreglass.

E 20 mita te roa o te waka hourua nei i tāraia mai i te kaka kōata me te papa tāpatu (Te Ara 2013). / It was a 20-metre long double-hulled canoe made of fibreglass and plywood.

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kākā tarahae

1. (noun) leader of a flock of kākā, orator.

I kitea tōna ū me tōna niwhaniwha ki te whai i te kaupapa, ā, i whai ingoa nā te mea he kākā tarahae ki te kōrero (TTR 1994:114). / He showed determination and resoluteness to pursue a project, and he had distinguished himself with oratorical skills.

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Synonyms: manu kōrero, wahapū, māngai, pūkōrero

kaka horihori

1. (noun) synthetic fibre.

Ko te kaka horihori - he mea hanga e te tangata tēnei momo, ko te nuinga he momo kirihou (RTA 2014:95). / Synthetic fibre - this type is made by man, the majority are types of plastic.

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kaka kīrehe

1. (noun) animal fibre.

Ko te kaka kīrehe - nō ngā huruhuru o te kararehe pērā i te hipi, te noke papamāene me te paihamu (RTA 2014:95). / Animal fibre - from the hair of animals such as the sheep, silkworm and the possum.

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kaka tipu

1. (noun) plant fibre.

Ko te kaka tipu - he hua nō tētahi tipu, pērā i te harakeke, i te kātene me te kokonati (RTA 2014:95). / Plant fibre - product of a plant, such as flax, cotton and coconut.

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pona kakā

1. (noun) arthritis.

He mate te pona kakā ka pā ki ngā pona o te tinana, arā, ka pupuhi, ka kakā, ka tino mamae (RP 2009:327). / Arthritis is a disease of the joints of the body, where they swell, become inflamed and are very painful.

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pūkahu kakā

1. (noun) pneumonia.

Ko te tamariki me te kaumātua ngā hunga e tino pāngia ana ki te pūkahu kakā (RP 2009:338). / Children and the elderly are the groups most affected with pneumonia.

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Synonyms: tarutawhiti, niumōnia, mate niumōnia

pane kākā

1. (noun) kākā head, talkative person.

Tarahae te tangi o te kākā ki te taringa, nō konā te kupu whakarite a te Māori mō te pākiwaha, kīia ai he kākā waha nui, he pane kākā rānei (Te Ara 2016). / The kākā has a loud, harsh call, so Māori liken talkative people as big-mouthed kākā or kākā heads.

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kākā parakiwai

1. (noun) dark coloured kākā - as opposed to a kākā kura, a kākā with scarlet colouring regarded as the leader of a flock.

Ka eke te kākā parakiwai, kaua e tākiritia, engari ka eke te kākākura, tākiritia! (JPS 1912:98). / If an ordinary kākā should land here, do not snare it, but if a kākākura (scarlet parrot) comes, snare it! (A pepeha. Ngāti Maru were living under the protection of Ngāti Urunumia, a hapū of Ngāti Maniapoto. At that time Ngāti Urunumia were on bad terms with Ngāti Hāua. Hari-maruru, a chief of Ngāti Urunumia thought it a good opportunity to pay off some old scores against his southern neighbours, Ngāti Hāua. So he made this statement to Ngāti Maru, who understood this to refer to Tū-te-mahurangi, who they obligingly killed.)

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