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Historical loan words

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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

te

1. (determiner) the (singular) - used when referring to a particular individual or thing.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 13-14, 44;)

Anei te ongaonga. / Here is the stinging nettle.

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2. (determiner) the - when referring to a whole class of things or people designated by the noun that follows.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 48; Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 125;)

Kī tonu te wharenui i te tamariki. / The meeting house was full of children.

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3. (determiner) Mr, mister, sir - used before people's names to show respect. When used this way it begins with a capital letter.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 190-191;)

Kei Te Wharehuia, tēnei te mihi atu mō tō āwhina mai. / Wharehuia sir, thank you most sincerely for your help.

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Synonyms: Mita


4. (determiner) Used in front of another verb following a stative.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 58, 99-100;)

Kua oti i a au tāku pukapuka te tuhi. / I have finished writing my book.

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5. (determiner) Used in front of another verb following taea.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 75-76;)

Ka taea e ia tēnei waiata te whakamāori. / She will be able to interpret this song.

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6. (determiner) Used before the names for the days of the week.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 30;)

Ā te Rātapu mātou haere ai ki Poihākena. / We go to Sydney on Saturday.

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7. (determiner) Sometimes used before numbers with a following noun.

I tāwāhi a Pita mō te rima tau. / Peter was overseas for five years.

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8. (determiner) Used before ordinal numbers including those using tua-.

(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 12;)

I piki a Tāne-nui-a-rangi ki te tuangahuru mā rua o ngā rangi. / Tāne-nui-a-rangi climbed to the twelfth realm.

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9. .

ngā

1. (particle) (determiner) the - plural of te.

(Te Kākano Textbook (Ed. 2): 13-14, 44;)

Homai ngā pereti. / Pass the plates, please.

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hūkerikeri

1. (verb) to be rough, violent, tempestuous, stormy, turbulent (of wind, rain or the sea).

Ka kai te kāpura i tōna aroaro, ā ka hūkerikeri te āwhā ki tētahi taha ōna, ki tētahi taha (PT Nga Waiata 50:3). / A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

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2. (modifier) rough, violent, tempestuous, stormy, turbulent (of wind, rain or the sea).

Me ko au tērā i runga i te waka e rutua ana e te moana hūkerikeri, he ruaruaki kau te mahi! (HJ 2012:150). / If that was me on the canoe being tossed about by the rough sea, I would have been vomiting endlessly.

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3. (noun) roughness, tempestuousness, storminess, turbulence (of wind, rain or the sea).

I te hūkerikeri o te wai me te kaha o te hau ka rere te pūpūtai ki te tāhuna rā anō (PK 2008:717). / Because the water was so rough and the wind so strong the spray flew as far as the sandbank.

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Tangaroa

1. (personal name) atua of the sea and fish, he was one of the offspring of Rangi-nui and Papa-tū-ā-nuku and fled to the sea when his parents were separated. Sometimes known as Tangaroa-whaiariki.

(Te Māhuri Study Guide (Ed. 1): 40-42;)

Ko te māoritanga o ngā ingoa o ēnei tamariki a Rangi rāua ko Papa: Ko Tangaroa, he ika; ko Rongo-mā-tāne, ko te kūmara; ko Haumia-tiketike, ko te aruhe; ko Tāne-mahuta, ko te rākau, ko te manu; ko Tāwhiri-mātea, ko te hau; ko Tū-mata-uenga, ko te tangata (KO 16/9/1886:6). / The explanation of the names of these children of Rangi and Papa is: Tangaroa is fish; Rongo-mā-tāne is kūmara; Haumia-tiketike is fernroot; Tāne-mahuta is trees and birds; Tāwhiri-mātea is wind; Tū-mata-uenga is humans.

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See also atua


2. (noun) general name for the seven nights of the lunar month from the eighth to the fourteenth nights after the full moon - these are generally good days for planting fishing and eeling.

Ko te kōrero whakamutunga anō mō te tino āhua o ngā Tangaroa nei, tae noa ki te Ōmutu, ko tēnei te wā mōmona o te maramataka, e whitu rā te roa (WT 2013:32). / The final statement about the real nature of these Tangaroa nights, right until Ōmutu (the fourteenth night after the full moon), is that this is the productive time of the lunar calendar, and it is seven days long.

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Tamatea

1. (personal noun) moon on the eighth night of the lunar month.


2. (noun) general name for four nights of the lunar month from the 21st to the 24th night after the full moon - each night has its own name added to Tamatea.

I roto katoa i aku rangahau, kimikimi kōrero mō te ingoa nei, kāre i tarea e ngā pakeke te whakamārama pono ko wai te Tamatea nei, ā, he aha te ingoa nei i noho ai i konei (WT 2013:51). / In all my research and enquiries about this name, the elders were not able to adequately explain who this Tamatea was and why the name appears here.

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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.

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tāngangao

1. (verb) to subside, diminish, ease, abate (of the sea, etc.).

Ka tāngangao te ngaru (W 1971:379). / The waves subsided.

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te mutunga (kē) mai (nei) o te ...

1. the ultimate in, absolutely, the epitome of, the best, the worst - an idiom used to exclaim about the quality of something or someone, both good and bad.

(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 147;)

Ko te mutunga mai o te riko o tēnei rūma. / This room is filthy.
Kei reira ētahi whakaahua te mutunga kē mai nei o te ātaahua (HM 3/1998:7). / At that place there were some photographs that were extremely beautiful.
Taringa morimori? Āe, te mutunga kē mai! / Stubborn? Yes, with a vengeance!

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Synonyms: ehara ehara, , anō, moruka, mārika, tahi, mōrukaruka, mārire, pohapoha, puru, piropiro, hāwerewere, rukaruka, mārie

takapou

1. (noun) floor mat.

See also takapau


2. (noun) karakia lifting the tapu to enable the entry of women into the house and spreading the mat of occupation and use - the spreading of the takapou was used in ceremonies involving tapu.

Nā ngā kaumātua o Te Arawa i wewete ngā tapu o ōna whakairo, i karakia te karakia o te waere, te kawa, te toki, te takapou (TTT 1/10/1922:8). / The elders of Te Arawa removed the tapu from its carvings, recited the incantations of the waere (clearing the tapu of the building), of the kawa (calling on the powers to ruruku, or bind together, the uprights and rafters of the building), the toki (incantation addressed to the tree from which the carvings were made using the toki, or axe) and the takapou (incantation lifting the tapu to enable the entry of women into the house and spreading the mat of occupation and use).

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poupou

1. (verb) to be at its height, on the meridian, aloft (of the sun).

Kua poupou te rā, ka puta ngā Mehemete e toru (HP 1991:184). / When the sun was on the meridian three Messerschmitts appeared.

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2. (modifier) steep, perpendicular, upright.

Ko te wāhi tukunga atu ki te awa he tahataha āhua poupou tonu (HP 1991:20). / The place for entering the river was quite a steep bank.

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Synonyms: taparere, poutū, torotika


3. (noun) wall-pillars, post, pole, upright slabs forming the framework of the walls of a house, carved wall figures, peg, stake.

Ka titiro a Wairangi, ko ngā poupou o te whare he kōhurihuri kahikatea (JPS 1910:198). / Wairangi looked and noticed that the side posts of the house were of sapling white pine.

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Synonyms: pouihi, pōhi, tīrau, titi, mātiti, tahatiti, koropā, tia, toko, tiripou, turupou, tumutumu, tumu, pōra, pou, tīrou, tōpito o te ao, pōhi, turuturu, koteo, tokotoko


4. (noun) old folk.

Ka aroaroā au ki aku poupou (TTTT 2006:40). / I missed my old folk.

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Synonyms: mātāpuputu


5. (noun) father-in-law, mother-in-law.

Kātahi ka kī atu te wahine rā ki tana tāne, “Kua kite au i tōu poupou." (JPS 1893:214). / Then that woman said to her husband, “I have seen your father-in-law."

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Synonyms: hungawai, hūngoi, hungarei

morimori

1. (verb) (-a,-tia) to nurse (an infant), caress, handle.

Hei ētahi tāima e tae noa atu ana ahau ki te morimori i ngā maire, i ētahi tāima kāore e tae atu ka riri ki ngā kurī (TJ 20/6/1899:16). / Sometimes I would go and stroke its antlers, but at other times I could not go because it was angry with the dogs.

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Synonyms: tapuhi, tiaki, nēhi, nāhi, nānā, whakatapuhi, hiki, mohimohi


2. (verb) (-a,-tia) to promote the development and well-being, pamper, pander to, indulge, mollycoddle.

Ko tāku, kaua te Kāwanatanga e hikihiki tonu, e morimori tonu i te iwi Māori me ōna whenua, me tuku te Māori kia whakahaere i ana whenua (Pire Whakahaere i Ngā Whenua Māori 31/10/1901). / I say that the Government should not keep propping up and pampering to the Māori people and their lands. The Māori should be left to manage their land.

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Synonyms: nānā


3. (verb) (-a,-tia) to touch, handle, stroke, caress (the head of a chief) - it was a breach of tapu for another person to touch a chief's head.

Me he rangatira te tangata nōna te pane i morimoria nei, kātahi ka rangona tēnei kupu morimori e whakahuatia ana, mō te morimoringa hoki o te pane tapu o te rangatira nei. Ka tauatia hoki, ka murua ngā taonga, whenua, aha atu rānei, a te tangata nāna i morimori (JPS 1894:28). / If it was a chief whose head was touched, then this word 'morimori' would be used for the action of touching the sacred head of the chief. The person who touched it would be the subject of a hostile party and his goods, land or other property would be plundered.

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4. (noun) promoting the development and well-being, pampering, pandering to, indulging, mollycoddling.

Me mutu te morimori tonu a te Whare nei i te iwi Māori, kua mōhio noa atu rātou i nāianei ki te whakahaere i a rātou (Pire Whakahaere i Ngā Whenua Māori 31/10/1901). / The House's continual pampering of the Māori people must stop as they have known for a long time now how to manage themselves.

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kua eke te waka ki te au moana

1. the canoe has reached the open sea, take the bull by the horns.

Rākaunui

1. (modifier) full moon.

Kei ngā pō atarau, kei ngā pō rākaunui o te marama, e kitea atu ana a Rona, me tana tahā, me te rākau ngaio e tū ana i tana taha (TWK 2:13). / On moonlit nights, on nights when the moon is full, Rona can be seen with her calabash and the ngaio tree standing at her side.

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2. (personal noun) full moon on the fifteenth night (sometimes the seventeenth or eighteenth night) - for some tribes (e.g. Te Whānau-ā-Apanui) this night marks the start of the month. A good day for fishing and planting.

Ko Rākaunui te rā ka taka mai i muri i te pō o te raununui o te marama (Wh3 2003:106). / Rākaunui is the day after the night of the full moon.

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Synonyms: Takirau


3. (noun) full moon.

Kia pā te rā ki te pae, kia whakatātare mai te marama i runga i ngā pae maunga, kia kī mai te tai i te ahiahi, koia nā te marama tūturu. Koia nā te Rākaunui (WT 2013:17). / When the sun touches the horizon in the evening; when the moon peers over the hills and the tide is at its fullest, that is the fullest of the full moons. That is Rākaunui (WT 2013:17).

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he ... te haere

1. the trend, the fashion, in vogue, the fad, the craze - an idiom used when a currently popular activity or topic is being explained.

(Kei te titiro a Pare rāua ko Rangi ki tētahi whakaahua tahito. Ko Rangi tētahi o ngā tāngata o roto i te whakaahua.) Pare: Te rerekē noa iho o ō koutou āhua! Rangi: Āe, he makawe roa te haere i ērā wā. Pare: I ēnei rā, he 'nama tahi', he hewa rānei te haere. Rangi: Kātahi ka tino rerekē rawa atu! (HKK 1999:137). / (Pare and Rangi are looking at an old photo. Rangi is one of the people in the photo.) Pare: How different you all look! Rangi: Yes, long hair was the fashion in those times. Pare: These days a 'number one' or a bald cut is in vogue. Rangi: How different it is.

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tara iti

1. (noun) floor space on the left on entering a meeting house.

Ka haria mai e te manuhiri ā rātou kawenga ki roto i te wharenui. Ko rātou ki te tara nui o te whare moe ai, ko te tangata whenua ki te tara iti (TWK 46:13). / The visitors take their luggage into the meeting house. They sleep on the right side on entering a meeting house, the local people are on the left side.

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whakaruru

1. (verb) (-a,-hia,-tia) to afford shelter, shelter, protect.

I te pō o te 10 o Hune 1886, arā, i te pō o te hū, e 62 ngā tāngata i whakaruruhia e Te Paea i tōna whare i Te Wairoa (TTR 1994:25). / On the night of 10 June 1886, that is the night of the eruption, Sophia sheltered 62 people in her house at Te Wairoa.

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Synonyms: whakamarumaru, whakaruruhau, rauhī, parahau, araarai, taumaru, whakahau, whakangungu, whakamaru, pare, whakahaumaru, , manaaki, tiaki, taumarumaru, whakamauru, maru, piringa, tīhokahoka, whakamaurutanga, tāwharau, ruruhau, pātakitaki, pāruru, tūrutu, pātūtū


2. (modifier) affording shelter, sheltering, protecting.

Ka whakataua e Whitmore me ruru a Te Urewera, kia kore ai e whai wāhi whakaruru, wāhi whakarato taonga, wāhi taritari ope rānei a Te Kooti me ngā mōrehu kaiārahi i te Hauhau (TTR 1990:384). / Whitmore decided that the Urewera would have to be invaded, so that Te Kooti and the surviving Hauhau leaders wouldn't have a sanctuary and a supply of goods or a recruitment area.

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Synonyms: whakahaumaru, ruruhau, whakawhare, tīhoka, whakamarumaru, tāwharau


3. (noun) screen, shelter, protector.

Nō te mea ko ia tō rātou whakaruru, ka whakatūpato atu a Te Whatanui kia kaua e haere (TTR 1990:335). / Because he was their protector, Te Whatanui warned them not to go.

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Synonyms: parepare, ruruhau, kaiwhakamarumaru, whakamarumaru, whakaruruhau, tītopa, pāhoka, pāhokahoka, pātakitaki, tūrutu, pātūtū, , tauārai, mata, , ārai, rīanga, takitaki, pākai, pākai riri, araarai, pātū, pekerangi, ārei


4. (noun) facial gesture in kapa haka where the enlarged eyes stare in one direction and the tongue protrudes in the opposite direction.

Ko te whakaruru, koia te tiro korotaha o ngā whatu nunui, me te whātero ki taha kē (RMR 2017). / The whakaruru facial gesture is where the enlarged eyes stare sideways and the tongue protrudes in the opposite side.

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tutuki

1. (verb) to be finished, completed, achieved, done.

Ka noho, ka roa, ka tutuki i a Pōtatau tana hiahia kia kite ā-kanohi tonu ia i te kauhanga riri (TTR 2000:161). / Eventually Pōtatau got his wish to see the front line with his own eyes.

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Synonyms: eke, riwha, pahawa, porotutuki


2. (verb) reach the farthest limit, on the turn (of the tide), extend, succeed.

Ahakoa taitimu, taipari rānei, tū tonu te ia, me te ngaru hoki e tū ana. Engari kia tutuki rawa te tai, kātahi ka ngohengohe te ia (JPS 1946:30). / Whether it was ebb-tide, or flood-tide, the current ran strongly and its waves surged in. But when the tide was on the turn, then the current slackened.

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tara nui

1. (noun) floor space on the right on entering a wharenui and the place where manuhiri sleep.

Ka haria mai e te manuhiri ā rātou kawenga ki roto i te wharenui. Ko rātou ki te tara nui o te whare moe ai, ko te tangata whenua ki te tara iti (TWK 46:13). / The visitors take their luggage into the meeting house. They sleep on the right side on entering a meeting house, the local people are on the left side.

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he ... te karawhiu

1. all the rage, the popular activity, the norm - an idiom to indicate a popular activity.

I ngā Rāhoroi, he horoi kaka te karawhiu, heoi anō pō iho ana, he pia kē te karawhiu (HKK 1999:138). / On Saturdays washing clothes was the popular activity, however, when it was dark drinking beer was the norm.

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aroarohaki

1. (verb) to flap the wings, move the hands with a quivering motion (as in the haka), shake (of hands), quiver.

Ara mai ana ngā taua a ētahi hapū noa atu, tū ana ki runga pūkanakana ai ngā karu me te whētero te arero, tūpeke ngā waewae, aroarohaki ngā ringaringa (TWMNT 30/11/1875:283). / Hostile bands of other distant subtribes rise up, dilating their eyes, protruding their tongues, jump about and their hands quiver.

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See also aroarowhaki

Synonyms: kūreperepe, oioi, , kārohirohi, kapakapa, wanawana, wiriwiri, whakakakapa, ore, kakapa, māueue, māwewe, kereū, tāwariwari, tīkorikori, arowhaki, arohaki, oreore, ārohirohi, ngāoraora, ngaue

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