whakawhenua
1. (verb) to set (of heavenly bodies).
Me pēhea kē e wareware ai i a au taua pō ko te kitenga whakamutunga hoki tērā i a koe, ā, rongo rawa ake māua ko taringa kua whakawhenua kētia a `Meremere-Tāwera, te whetū takiaho mai o te rangi,' ā, tau mai ana ko te pōuri nui (HM 1/1994:1). / How could I forget that night, which was the last time I saw you, and when I heard, it was as if Venus, the shining star of the heavens, had already set, and a great sadness settled upon me.
Synonyms: rumaki
3. (verb) to hold fast, define land.
I whakawhenua tūturutia anō hoki e ērā o ngā rangatira o te raki o Waiapu, ō rātau whenua (TTR 1990:41). / The other chiefs of northern Waiapu also defined their permanent land.
4. (verb) to sink to the bottom.
Kāore i te mōhiotia ko hea te ara tika e ū pai ai tō tātou waka reo ki te whenua houkura, tē whakawhenua noa ki te kōpū o Hinemoana (HM 3/1993:2). / It's not clear where the right path is whereby our language canoe will reach the prosperous land and not just sink down to the bowels of Hinemoana.
