pitau - Te Aka Māori Dictionary

pītau

1. (noun) young succulent shoot of a fern, fern frond, fern shoot.

He nui ngā kōrero e mea ana, ko te koru e tohu ana i te tipu hou, inā tōna rite ki te pītau huruwhenua (RTA 2014:107). / There are numerous accounts that say the koru symbolises a new shoot, like the fern frond.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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waka pītau

1. (noun) fishing canoe with a carved figurehead and vertical stern piece.

He waka tōtōkau, he waka pītau, kāore he rauawa (M 2005:200). / An everyday canoe, a fishing canoe with a carved figurehead and vertical stern piece and no attached sides above the hull.

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pītau ira

1. (noun) deoxyribonucleic acid DNA.

pītau pīni

1. (noun) green beans.

pītau whakareia

1. (noun) carved canoe figurehead with deflected arms.

Me he pītau whakareia (TWK 19:46). / Like a carved canoe figurehead with deflected arms.

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Pītau whakareia

1. An ornamental spiral which is seen in the prow of a waka whakairo or waka taua: said of a chief or esteemed leader.

Kei te pītau whakarei o te waka o Tainui nau mai haramai / you the ornamental prow of Tainui welcome.

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pītau pīni

1. (noun) green beans.

E nui ana ngā huaora i roto i ngā pītau pīni. There are lots of vitamins in green beans. /

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mātauranga pītau ira

1. (noun) DNA knowledge.

Heoi, ka tohu ngā rangahau mātauranga pītau ira nō ngā tau tōmua o te mano tau 2000, tērā pea i ahu mai ngā hue o Te Moananui-a-Kiwa mai i ngā hua kākano whakauru mai Amerika me Āhia (Te Ara 2011). / However DNA research in the early 2000s suggests that the gourds of the Pacific are a hybrid of American and Asian species.

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