mokowhiti
1. (verb) to jump, leap, spring.
Nā te haruru o te mura o te ahi, me te rū o te tanukutanga o ētahi wāhi o te whare ka mokowhiti ake i tōna moenga (TTT 1/11/1925). / Because of the noise of the flames of the fire and the shaking caused by the collapse of some parts of the building, he leaped from his bed.
Synonyms: rei, mawhiti, mahiti, rēinga, rere, mōwhiti, mokohiti, tiapu, tarapeke, mōwhīwhiti, mokopeke, mahuta, hūpeke, peke, tūpeke
2. (verb) to escape, get away, flee, bolt.
Kua mate kē atu a Te Tauri i a Ngāti Kahungunu i mua atu. I rokohanga e te taua ko tana kotahi i te kāinga e uhi ana i tana whare; ka karapotia, ka mokowhiti iho, kāore i puta ka mau ka patua a Te Tauri, te toa 'ika-huirua' (M 2004:266). / Te Tauri had previously been killed by Ngāti Kahungunu. He was discovered alone by a war party at his home whilst engaged in roofing his house; the house was surrounded; he leaped to escape, was caught and killed, and thus died Te Tauri, 'the two-fold slayer of the fish of war' (M 2004:267).
3. (verb) to beat, palpitate.
Ko te kore e mokowhiti o te manawa te tino tohu kua hemo te tangata (PK 2008:468). / The lack of a heartbeat is the main sign that a person has died.
Synonyms: mokohiti, hotohoto, kakapa, whētuki, kapakapatū
4. (noun) yellow-eye mullet, Aldrichetta forsteri - silvery fish with greenish-to-bluish tinge or olive-grey on back, pale yellow tinge below. Body elongated and cylindrical with pointed head and snout. Two dorsal fins. Common in schools in sheltered estuaries and harbours.
See also aua
