teretere
1. (verb) to float, flow, run, drift.
Hohoro tonu te here i ngā kārewa e rua ki ngā pokihiwi, oti kau anō ka totohu te kaipuke ki te wai, kumi mā ono te hōhonu, pupuri ai rātou ki ngā kārewa me ngā rākau i teretere, me kore rātou e ora i ēnei (THM 1/4/1888:2). / Hurriedly he fastened two floats around his shoulders, whereupon the ship sank in sixteen fathoms of water, with them clinging to the buoys and loose spars hoping they could survive with these.
2. (verb) to flicker (as a fire or candle).
Ki te tahu koe i te kānara, kua pau haere te kānara, kua tae tata tonu ki te pito, kua tīmata te teretere (Milroy 2011). / If you light a candle, when it is almost finished and it's almost at the end, it begins to flicker.
3. (verb) to be quick, fast, hurry, rush, dash.
Kia teretere, kei rīria tātou, he takaroa nō tātou (HKK 1999:175). / Hurry or we'll be reprimanded because we are late.
Synonyms: wakewake, patiko, oioi, rei, rere tārewa, whakatūkawikawi, tuoma, hīrere, rere, tūpou, takaniti, takawhiti, tere, māngi, pepeke, kama, kakama, hihiko, horo, pekepeke, horohoro, hohoro, tūkawikawi, wawewawe, whiwhita, whitawhita, kamakama, naho
4. (noun) company of travellers (especially by sea and water).
Nā ngā taitamariki, nā ngā taitamāhine o aua hapū nei aua teretere haere (TWK 2:22). / The youths and young women of those subtribes and travelling parties performed.
5. (noun) fast speed.
Tētahi tohu tuatahi ko te teretere o te patētē o te manawa (TTT 1/8/1929:1053). / One of the first symptoms is the fast speed of the heartbeat.
teretere
1. (noun) Pacific gecko, brown gecko, Dactylocnemis pacificus - previously called Hoplodactylus pacificus. The markings on this species may often be brighter and with greater contrast compared to the common gecko. Widespread throughout the North Island and offshore islands in the north. Nocturnal, hiding during the day, and rarely seen basking. Lives on the ground, but will climb trees. Found in a variety of habitats.
Te ingoa o taua waka, ko 'Mangarara'; ngā rangatira o runga, ko Wheketoro, ko te Waiopotango, ko Rauarikiao, ko Tarawhata, me ētahi atu. Nā tēnei waka i mau mai te tuatara, te teretere, te kumukumu, te moko pārae, me te moko kākāriki, (he mea āhua rite katoa ki te tuatara) (TWMNT 22/8/1876:201). / The name of the canoe was 'Mangarara', and the chiefs who came on it were Wheketoro, Waiopotango, Rauarikiao, Tarawhata, and a number of others. This canoe brought the tuatara, the brown gecko, the kumukumu, the moko pārae, and the green gecko, (all reptiles like the tuatara).
Synonyms: pāpā, ngārara pāpā, mania
ahi teretere
1. (stative) flickering fire, unstable fire - a term used when members of a whānau have not returned to their tribal lands to 'keep the fires burning' for three or four generations and their rights have almost been extinguished.
Ko te kaupapa o te kōrero, kia kore ai e ahi teretere, kia kore ai rānei e ahi mātao...Me hokihoki tonu koe ki tōu ake kāinga kia kā tonu ai ngā ahi, me tuku rānei e koe ō tamariki kia hokihoki ki tērā o ngā kāinga kia noho mahana tonu ai ō ahi (Tikanga 1997:70). / The purpose of the story is so that fire does not flicker or grow cold...You must continually return to your real home so that the fires continue to burn, or you should request that your children return often to that home so that your fires stay warm.
See also ahi tere, ahi tahutahu
Synonyms: ahi tere
pū teretere
1. (noun) autocannon, automatic cannon - a rapid-fire projectile weapon that fires explosive shell.
Kua rite noa atu ngā mahi a te Poa mō te whawhai. Kua whakanohoia ngā pū repo me ngā pū teretere, ki te takiwā pai o runga i aua hiwi me te whanga mai ki ngā hōia a te Ingarihi (TPH 30/11/1899:10). / The preparations of the Boars for the battle had been completed long ago. The cannons and autocannons had been set in place in the best positions on those hills and were waiting for the English soldiers.
