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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

kiri

1. (noun) skin, bark, rind.

Ka pakaru ngā kākahu, ka tuia he kākahu mō rātou ki te kiri kekeno, he iwi toroa ngā ngira (TWM 20/2/1868:5). / When their clothes were ragged they sewed garments of seal skins and the needles were of albatross bone.

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Synonyms: tapeha, hiako, peha


2. (noun) person, self - a figurative use.

E muri ahiahi takoto ki te moenga, ko taku kiri māngi te tirohia mai nā (M 2004:196). / With the fall of eventide I lay me down to sleep, it is my distressful state you do now gaze upon (M 2004:197).

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Synonyms: kōhī, tinana, tuakiri, tangata, tuatangata, tawhiti, whaiaro, kōiwi

mātai kiri

1. (noun) dermatology.

I haere au ki te whare wānanga ki te ako i te Mātai Kiri. / I went to university to study Dermatology.

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kiri tai

1. (noun) outer skin, epidermis.

See also kiritai

Synonyms: kiritai

kiri wai

1. (noun) inner skin.

See also kiriwai

kiri angaanga

1. (noun) scalp.

kiri tuhi

1. tattoo - a term used for tattooing that is not regarded as having the cultural aspects related to moko.

Kiri tuna

1. Eel skin: someone who is tough and resilient.

E kore te kiri tuna rā e raru i ngā whakaparahako a ērā / that thick-skinned one won't be troubled by their insults.

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kiri hipi

1. (loan) (noun) sheepskin.

See also kirihipi

kiri kawa

1. (modifier) short-tempered, quick-tempered, irritable, irascible, cranky, crotchety.

He wā he kiri kawa tōna wairua; he wā anō he tangata marae, he tangata nohopuku (TTR 1990:237). / Sometimes he was very short-tempered, and at other times he was generous or reclusive.

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kiri kau

1. (modifier) naked, nude.

Ka kī ngā puku, ka hoki anō ki te kaukau, engari ka tauwhāinga ko wai rā e rere wawe ki te kōpua. I te kaha o te oma, o te tauwhāinga, kāhore anō kia tata ki te wai, ka tīmata te ruke i ngā kākahu, ka whārona te kākahu, tae rawa atu ki te wai kua tū kiri kau (TTT 1/7/1928:815). / When their stomachs were full they returned to have another swim, but they competed as to who would run to the the pool the first. Because they ran and competed so energetically, before they had reached the water they had begun throwing off their clothes, leaving them in heaps, and by the time they reached the water they were naked.

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Synonyms: kau, kirikau, tahanga, hahake, pakiwhara


2. (noun) nakedness, nudity, undress.

Ka haere me te tokotoko, ko te kiri kau anake, kāore he kahu (JPS 1914:137). / He went off with the spear, quite naked, with no clothing.

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kiri hangareka

1. (noun) jester, comedian, clown.

kiri kōtea

1. (noun) albino, fair skinned.

He huhua ngā hapū me ngā reo, me ngā kiri hoki. Ko ētahi he kiri kōtea, ko ētahi e karatiwha ana (TP 1/3/1901:9). / There are many tribes and languages. Some are fair skinned, others are very dark.

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kiri waitutu

1. (modifier) dark-skinned, dark-red skin.

Ko ngā kiri waitutu katoa he whanaunga ki a tātau, e kaha ana tō mātau whakaaro whakapiri ki ngā iwi kiri waitutu o Te Moana-nui-a- Kiwa (TPH 30/1/1900:8). / All dark-skinned people are related to us and our thoughts are akin to the dark-skinned people of the Pacific Ocean.

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2. (noun) dark-skinned person, dark-red skin.

He kiri waitutu tērā tangata a Murupaenga, he tangata tūkaha te tipu, atamai te āhua (TTR 1990:62). / That man Murupaenga was a dark-skinned person, strongly built, with an intelligent expression.

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kiri whakauka

1. (verb) to devote, dedicate.

E mea ana te kōrero nei ka kiri whakauka tētehi ki te kaupapa e kaingākau nuitia ana e ia, e aro nuitia ana e ia (Kāretu 2016). / What is intended is that one will devote one's all to matters of interest and significance (Kāretu 2016).

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putaputa kiri

1. (noun) pore (of the skin).

kiri matamata

1. (noun) foreskin, prepuce.

He iwi kokoti katoa rātou i te kiri matamata o ngā tamariki tāne (TWMNT 21/4/1874:97). / They are all tribes that practise circumcision of the boys.

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See also kirimata

Synonyms: kirimata

kiri taratara

1. (noun) echinoderm - a phylum consisting of star fish, sea-urchins, sea slugs and sea-lillies. Often spiny-skinned.

Wai tuku kiri

1. Skin caressing waters: said of rivers and lakes.

Haere ki ō wai tuku kiri kia ora ai koe / go to your skin caressing waters so you will become well.

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kahu kiri kurī

1. (noun) dogskin cloak - highly prized cloaks at the time of early contact with Europeans and were worn by high ranking chiefs.

He kahu kiri kurī te kahu, kei te ore tērā ngā kōtuku o tōna pūtiki, he rangatira (JPS 1926:98). / His garment is a dogskin cloak, the white heron plumes of his topknot are quivering, and he's a chief.

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tōtara kiri kōtukutuku

1. (noun) New Zealand cedar, Libocedrus plumosa - a tall native tree with a cone-shaped head of heavy, almost horizontally spreading branches. The trunk is without branches for some distance above the ground and has thin, parchment-like bark which falls in long strips. The leaves are rich green, compressed and flattened, giving a feathery effect.

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