mateoha
1. (verb) to be loving, affectionate, fond of.
He tangata ngāwari, he hūmārie, he mateoha, he atawhai tangata, he tangata whakapono (TP 1/6/1902:9). / He was a gentle, pleasant, loving person, who showed kindness to people, a person who believed.
Synonyms: aroha
2. (modifier) lovable, endearing, adorable.
Ko Erihāpeti Ngā Roimata he kōtiro mateoha (TTR 1990:105). / Erihapeti Ngā Roimata, was a lovable child.
3. (noun) loveableness, adorability, endearingness.
E tino arohatia ai tātou ehara i te mea mā ā tātou mahi nunui, engari mā ā tātou tikanga ririki, mā te ngāwari, mā te hūmārie, mā te mateoha, mā te atawhai i te tangata, mā tō tātou pēhi i ō tātou nei whakaaro, hiahia, me tō tātou wareware ki a tātou anō, ka whakaaro kē ko ērā atu (HKW 1/6/1902:9). / We are loved not because of our great deeds, but for the little things, for affability, geniality, for other endearing qualities, for kindness to people, for our suppression of our own thoughts and desires and for forgetting about ourselves, but instead thinking of others.
