2. (verb) to be red-hot.
Ka ratarata ngā pōwhatu o te umu (W 327). / The rocks of the oven are red-hot.
Synonyms: kakā
3. (verb) to be sharp.
Ko te kōwhatu māna e tapahi te pito o te tamaiti ina whānau, he rehu tētahi, arā he matā, he kōwhatu karā, he mā taua kōwhatu, he hukātai te ingoa, me tō ko te mea rahirahi te mata, ka oro ki te hoanga kia tino ratarata rawa te mata hei tapahi i te iho tamariki (JPS 1929:262). / The stone he would use to cut the umbilical cord of the child when it was born was rehu, a form of flint, and a light-coloured kind of karā known as hukātai; a thin edged flake was struck off and rubbed on sandstone so that the edge was very sharp, with which to cut the iho.
Synonyms: pīrata, koi, tio, naho, hīmoemoe, kokoi, aneane, ngutu atamai, whakakoikoi, piki
4. (modifier) clear, not muddy.
He kāinga a Rotorua nō ngā mea whakamīharo: ngā wai koropupū, ngā puia, ngā puna mātaotao, me ngā wai ratarata (TTT 1/7/1928:811). / Rotorua is a place of amazing things: boiling water, geysers, cool springs with clear water.
