matā
1. (noun) flint, quartz, obsidian.
Ko ngā whao i kaha whakamahia mō te tapahi me te waruwaru ko ngā matā tūhua me te whaiapu (Te Ara 2011). / The tools most commonly used for cutting and scraping were sharp flakes of obsidian and chert.
Synonyms: mātara, matā tūhua, tūhua, kiripaka, takawai
2. (noun) lava.
Ko ngā tihi anake kāhore e tauia e te huka. He ahi kei reira e kā ana, e mura ake ana i roto i te whenua. He wā anō ka rere i roto i te maunga, me te matā nei te ahua ana rewa i te ahi. Nā ka mātaotao, ka whakarangitoto (MM.TKM 1/6/1855:8). / Only the top is not covered by snow because there is a fire burning there and it flames up from inside the ground. Sometimes it flows from within the mountain and this is lava when it's melted by the fire. When it cools, it solidifies as scoria.
3. (noun) bullet, lead, cartridge, cannon ball, shot, shotput.
(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 37;)
Ka huri mātau ki tua o tētahi tau, ka kitea atu e mātau ngā tēneti e mā mai ana me ngā wākena hoki, i te taha mauī o ngā tēneti e tū mai ana ngā pūrepo a te hoariri. Kātahi mātau ka waipūtia mai, ka whakarongo mātau ki te whewheo o ngā matā e rere ana i runga ake i a mātau (TPH 15/1/1900:7). / We rounded a ridge and saw the the white of the tents and the wagons, with the cannons of the enemy standing to the left of the tents. Then we were fired upon and we heard the whistle of the bullets flying over us.
Synonyms: panganga, hōta, hoata, paneke, pao taka, tītere tautuku, tītere, panga matā, takitaki, whakahaere tikanga, taki, konumatā, kaea, whakahaere, ārahi, arataki, huataki, tātaki, tā, whakataki, kōkiri, whaitaki
4. (noun) seashore earwig, Anisolabis littorea - common above high tide on pebble beaches hiding under stones and driftwood.
mātā
1. (noun) Carex secta - a sedge which grows in raised tufts. Common in swampy areas throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. Grows up to 1 m tall, with weeping, yellowish-green leaves.
See also pūreirei
māta ...
1. you should watch out, you should be careful - an idiom indicating to the listeners that they should be careful what they say or do in case a difficulty arise. Māta starts the sentence and is followed by a verb.
Māta takatakahi koutou i ngā wāhi tapu (HKK 1999:110). / You had better tread carefully in the sacred places.
2. (modifier) raw, uncooked, not fully developed, immature, unripe, green, fresh.
Kāore he kai maoa o runga i tēnei waka, i a 'Tākitimu', nā te tapu. He kai mata anake (HP 1991:9). / There was no cooked food on this canoe, on Tākitimu, because it was tapu. There was only raw food.
mata
1. (noun) face, countenance, edge, blade, eye, screen (computer), headland, mesh (of a net).
2. (noun) surface.
I te wā i oti ai ngā mea katoa te hanga i runga i te mata o te whenua i roto i te whenua, i te takiwā, i roto i ngā wai, ka ui atu rātou me pēwhea te whakaputa i te ira tangata ki te ao (TTT 1/6/1924:63). / At the time all things were being created on the face of the land and in the earth, in space and in the waters, they asked how should the human element be created in the world.
3. (noun) point, tip.
Kei tētahi wāhi o te haki o Aotearoa, ko te tohu o te tieki o Ingarangi, kei tētahi taha ko ngā whetū whero e whā, he tohu mō Te Taki o Autahi, he tātai whetū kei te rangi – he whero te tae o ngā whetū, e rima ngā mata o ia whetū (Te Ara 2013). / One part of the New Zealand flag has the Union flag of the United Kingdom and on another side representing the Southern Cross, a constellation visible in the sky – the stars' colour is red and each star has five points.
Synonyms: koi, koinga, toi, toitoi, tara, tihi, matū, matamata, tongi, hiku, kūmore, raenga, akitu, paina, ngahu, tāmore
2. (noun) spell, charm, incantation.
Tokorima ngā tāngata o Ngāti Whātua i runga i taua poti i te tahuritanga. E kīia ana ka tata te tahuri, ka tāmomi te kei o te poti, ka tū tētahi o ngā tāngata ki runga, ka karakia i tana mata karakia ka puta te taru nei, te taniwha, tinitini ana tērā te taniwha, ka kawea e rātou te poti ki uta, ka ora ngā tāngata (TWMNT 19/12/1876:292). / There were five people of Ngāti Whātua on that boat when it was capsizing. It is said that when it was about to capsize and the stern of the boat was engulfed, one of the men stood up and when he recited a ritual chant this thing, the taniwha, appeared and a multitude of taniwha conveyed the boat to shore and the people were saved.
Māta
1. (loan) (personal name) Martha.
Ko te māmā o Airini ko Mary Hazel Teripa Tīkao, hei tamāhine mā Teone (Hōne) Taare Tīkao rāua ko tana wahine, ko Māta Hana Tōku Horomona (TTR 2000:63). / Airini's mother was Mary Hazel Teripa Tīkao, a daughter of Hone Taare Tīkao and his wife, Martha Hannah Solomon-Score.
mātā
1. (noun) fernbird, Bowdleria punctata - a warm brown bird heavily streaked and spotted dark brown with a long frayed tail. Secretive and lives in freshwater and tidal wetlands.
See also mātātā
2. (noun) secret agent.
3. (noun) subtlety.
2. (noun) someone without eyebrows.
Ko te pene tuhi tukemata te tino taonga a te mata hewa (HJ 2017:41). / The eyebrow pencil is the prized possession of someone without eyebrows.
matā korara
1. (noun) shrapnel.
E rua taotūtanga o te tangata nei, kotahi i te pakihiwi, nā te pū raiwhara; kotahi i te waewae, nā te matā korara o te pū mōtā (TWK 14:19). / This man was wounded in two places, one in the shoulder by rifle fire; the other in the leg by shrapnel from mortar fire.
Synonyms: kongakonga
