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Loan words

Historical loan words

kōpū

1. (noun) belly, abdomen.

Heoi, ka noho nei te taniwha, ko tana mahi, he patu i ngā tira haere; arā, he kai i ngā tāngata, horopuku tonu, ahakoa he kawenga tā te tangata, ka horomia pukutia e taua taniwha — ahakoa he tamaiti i runga i te hākui e waha ana, ka heke tahi rāua ki roto i te kōpū o te taniwha nei — ahakoa ngā tokotoko me ngā taiaha, ka pau katoa te horo (JPS 1905:200). / And so the taniwha remained there. His occupation was killing the travelling parties - that is, he used to swallow them whole, even if they had loads on their backs they were swallowed up by that taniwha - mothers carrying children on their backs, they went down together into the belly of this taniwha - even walking sticks and taiaha, they were completely swallowed up.

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Synonyms: tia, puku, riu, takapū


2. (noun) womb, uterus.

Ko te kupu ‘whenua’ mō Papatūānuku. Heoi, arā anō tērā mahinga o te kupu ‘whenua’ mō te ewe, te kaiwhāngai, te kaitauawhi i te tamaiti e tipu ana i te kōpū o tōna whāea (Te Ara 2015). / 'Whenua' is the word for land. However, there is another use of the word 'whenua' for the placenta, the organ that nourishes and supports the child growing in the womb of its mother.

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3. (noun) midst, bosom - often used in the phrase kōpū o te whenua or kōpū o Papatūānuku in reference to burial of the dead.

Haere rā, whakangaro atu i a koe ki te kōpū o te whenua, ki ngā rua kōiwi o ngā mātua, tīpuna ē, haere rā, haere atu rā! (EM 2002:190). / Farewell, disappear to the bosom of the earth, to the burial place of the bones of the parents and ancestors, farewell, depart!

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Synonyms: waenganui, waenga, waengarahi


4. (noun) belly skin with down (of a bird) - used as an ornament.

Kua herua ake taua tangata rā i te pō, kua tiatiaina ki te raukura, e rua kōpū toroa ki ngā taringa (NM 1928:84). / That man had combed up his hair that night, stuck a feather plume in his hair and had two belly skins of albatross down in his ears.

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5. (noun) inner garment.

Ko te pūeru i waho, ko te kahakaha i roto, ko te kōpū i roto rawa (NM 1926:116). / The course cape on the outside, the kahakaha underneath and the kōpū right inside that.

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Kōpū

1. (personal name) Venus as a morning star - the second planet from the sun in the solar system and the brightest celestial object after the sun and moon.

Me takoto te ihu o te waka ki te taha katau o te rā, o te marama, o Kōpū rānei (JPS 1913:181). / The bow of the canoe should be directed to the right side of the sun, the moon, or of Venus.

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See also Meremere-tū-ahiahi

Synonyms: Rangawhenua, Tangaroa, Matawhero, Whiro, Whiringa ki Tawhiti, ao-mārama, ao tūroa, aotūroa, ao mārama, Kōpūnui, Rangipō, taiao, Takero, Tāwera, Pareārau, Meremere, Meremere-tū-ahiahi, ao


2. (personal noun) fifth month of the Māori lunar calendar, approximately equivalent to October.

Ko te putanga mai o Matariki te tohu mō te marama tuatahi, ko ngā ingoa hoki ēnei o ngā marama katoa: Te Tahi o Pipiri, Te Rua o Takurua,Te Toru Here o Pipiri, Te Whā o Mahuru, Te Rima o Kōpū, Te Ono o Whitiānaunau, Te Whitu o Hakihea, Te Waru o Rehua, Te Iwa o Rūhi-te-rangi, Te Ngahuru o Poutū-te-rangi, Te Ngahuru mā tahi, Te Ngahuru mā rua (TP 1/3/1901:6). / The appearance of Pleiades is the sign for the first month and these are the names of all the months: The first is Pipiri, the second is Takurua, the third is Here o Pipiri, the fourth is Mahuru, the fifth is Kōpū, the sixth is Whiti-ānaunau, the seventh is Hakihea, the eighth is Rehua, the ninth is Rūhi-te-rangi, the tenth is Poutūterangi, the eleventh and twelth months.

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Synonyms: Rima o Hiringa-a-nuku, Maramatekau, Oketopa, Whiringa-ā-nuku, Rima o Kōpū, Te, Hiringa-ā-nuku

kōpū

1. (noun) Crans' bully, Gobiomorphus basalis - an endemic fish restricted to stoney riverbeds and streams of the North Island. Body moderately stout and stocky.

See also kōkopu

kōpū

1. (noun) underwear.

kōpū whāngai

1. (noun) surrogate.

Ko te kōpū whāngai: Ka hapū te wahine mā te rautātea, mā te whakauru kukune rānei, hei whakawhānau pēpi mā tētahi atu (RP 2009:265). / Surrogate: Conception through artificial insemination or embryo insertion in order for a woman to give birth for someone else (RP 2009:266).

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tarau kōpū

1. undies.

I te reo Māori, e takitahi ana te tarau kōpū ahakoa kāore i te pērā i te reo Pākehā. In the Māori language, undies are singular even though that's not the case in the English language. /

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waha kōpū

1. (noun) cervix.

Ko te waha kōpū: He tarawhiti uaua ki raro tonu o te kōpū (RP 2009:383). / The cervix: A ring of muscle just below the uterus.

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Rima o Kōpū, Te

1. (personal noun) fifth lunar month of the Māori year - approximately equivalent to October and traditionally used by Ngāti Awa.

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