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Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

whakawāwā

1. (verb) to take counsel, judge, wrangle, recriminate, argue.

Ko ia anake te tamaiti o taua hunga i whakawāwā nei kia patua ō rātou mātua (NM 1928:3). / He was the only child of that group who argued that their parents be killed.

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Synonyms: whakawā, kaiwhakawā, tiāti, tiati


2. (modifier) critical, judgemental, condemnatory.

Kaua hei whakawāwā ki tēnei tū tangi a te reo (TTT 1/7/1927:623). / Don't be critical of this type of sound of the language.

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3. (noun) settling, resolving, judging.

Ka whakatūria ia hei āteha i te tau 1851; ka hoatu hei mahi māna, ko te whakawāwā i ngā raruraru i waenganui i ngā iwi (TTR 1990:97). / He was made an assessor in 1851, and the task given to him was the settling of disputes among the tribes.

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Synonyms: kōtitanga, whakatatū, pūwhenua, tautanga, whakanohonoho

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