moko pāpā
1. (noun) common gecko, Hoplodactylus maculatus - variable in colour and pattern but usually pale brown or putty-grey marked with paler and darker shades.
See also moko tāpiri
waharoa
1. (noun) entrance to a pā, gateway, main entranceway.
Ka patua e ia tētehi wahine i te huarahi e ia e oma ana ki te waharoa, te kūwaha o te pā (JPS 1943:60). / A certain woman was slain by him on the pathway as he was running to the gateway or entrance of the pā.
Synonyms: kūaha matua
2. (noun) horse mussel, Atrina pectinata zelandica - a large bivalve common from low tide to 45 m with a thin, dark, wedge-shaped shell. The shell is thin, covered with hollow spines.
See also hururoa
pūwhara
1. (noun) watch tower, elevated platform in a pā.
Tokowhitu ngā tāngata i mate i te tangata o roto o te pā, he mea tārere mai i runga i ngā pūwhara (JPS 1919:94). / Seven men were killed by the man in the pā when they swung onto the elevated platforms.
See also pūhara
2. (noun) monkfish, giant stargazer, Kathetostoma giganteum - The monkfish is of the family Uranoscopidae and is endemic to the continental shelf around New Zealand. They are olive green/brown along the top of the body and fade into a white belly. The body is long and flat, with a prominent head, with eyes that face upward.
Arā noa atu ngā taera tunu i te pūwhara: ko te parai, ko te rorerore, ko te whakamamaoa hoki. / There are many ways to cook monkfish: fried, barbecued, and steamed.
Mangatoatoa
1. (location) a location on the banks of the Pūniu river west of Te Awamutu regarded as the centre of the Tainui territory.
Kei te pepeha nei ngā whakamārama mō ngā whenua o ngā iwi o Tainui: Mōkau ki runga, Tāmaki ki raro, Mangatoatoa ki waenganui, ko Pare Waikato, ko Pare Hauraki, ko te Kaokaoroa-o-Pātetere (Te Ara 2011). / The lands of the Tainui tribes are described in the saying: Mōkau above, Tāmaki below, Mangatoatoa in the centre, and there is Pare Waikato, Pare Hauraki, and the extended arm of Pātetere.
pūtūtaewhetū
1. (noun) phosphorus (P).
Synonyms: pī, porotītīwai, hīnātore
pākura
1. (noun) pūkeko, purple swamp hen, Porphyrio porphyrio - a deep blue-coloured bird with a black head and upperparts, a white undertail and a scarlet bill that inhabits wetlands, estuaries and damp pasture areas.
He manu hauwarea noa te pākura (pūkeko ki ētahi) (TTT 1/9/1927:657). / The swamp hen (called a pūkeko by some) is a lean bird.
See also pūkeko
Synonyms: tangata tawhito, pūkeko
2. (noun) red glow (in the sky).
2. (noun) perforated spiral carving.
Ko wai te tangata kei te kainga-a-ngaru o te waka, ko wai kei te tainga-riu, ko wai kei te pītau o te kei? (TTT 1/1/1924:8). / Who is the person at the bow of the canoe, who is at the bailing place, and who is at the carved stern post.
3. (noun) figurehead of a canoe ornamented with perforated spiral carving.
Kei runga kei te pītau e whēterotero ana te arero (W 1971:284). / On top was the carved figurehead with the tongue protruding.
4. (noun) canoe with a pītau figurehead.
Kei te puhinga ki ngā huruhuru kererū, tūī, ehara! kātahi anō ka āta pīwari tēnei mea te waka taua, he toiere, he waka whakarei, he pītau (M 2006:364). / When it is adorned with pigeon and tūī feathers, behold how beautiful the war canoe is, a toiere (war canoe with carved stem and stern), a whakarei (ornamental canoe) and a pītau (canoe with a figurehead ornamented with perforated spiral carving).
