2. (verb) to be solitary, desolate, deserted, uninhabited, devasted.
Kua pau ngā kāinga i te ahi, kua mōwai te whenua, kua mate kai ngā mōrehu (TTR 1990:294). / The villages had been razed by fire, the land devastated, and the survivers were starving.
3. (verb) to became moist.
4. (modifier) smooth, calm, solitary, desolate.
Ahiahi mōwai, ata roki (TP 10/1908:7). / A calm evening is followed by a settled morning.
mōwai rokiroki
1. (modifier) perfectly calm.
Tūperepere kau ana ngā wai o Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara, engari ia koe, e Matu, nei rā tō waka kua marewa ki ngā wai tokitoki, ki ngā hau tāhengihengi, ki te āio mōwai rokiroki (HM 2/1993). / The waters of Wellington Harbour are boisterous, but you, Matu, there is your conveyance raised up to the calm waters, to the soft breezes, and serenity.
Synonyms: rokiroki
