2. (verb) to smell, sniff.
Ka hongi te wahine rā, ka whakatetere i tōna poho hei horomi i a Māui; nā ko te honginga atu, nā ka hongi ki te tonga, kāhore i piro mai ki tōna ihu; ka hongi ki te marangai, ki ngā hau katoa, hongi rawa atu ki te hauāuru, kua piro mai (NM 1928:12). / That woman sniffed and extended her chest to swallow up Māui; and when she sniffed she sniffed to the south, but could smell nothing; she sniffed to the east, and in all directions. When she eventually sniffed to the west, she smelt him.
3. (noun) pressing noses in greeting.
Kei roto ngā whakamāramatanga mō te aituā, te aroha, te Atua, te hahu tūpāpaku, te hāngī, te hongi, te hura kōwhatu me te tini atu (HM 2/1991:6). / In it are explanations about death, love, God, exhumation of the dead, earth ovens, unveilings and many other things.
Hongi Hika
1. (personal name) (1772-1828) Ngā Puhi; leader, trader, military campaigner against tribes to the south from 1818 until his death.
(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 4;)
Ko te koti nei he mea homai nā Kīngi Hōri IV ki a Hongi i tōna taenga ki Ingarangi (TP 11/1908:8). / This coat was given by King George IV to Hongi when he arrived in England.
