whakamatemate
1. (verb) (-a) to be in mental turmoil, consumed with curiosity.
Ehara tāku i te ui makihoi, whakateka rānei, engari he tino whakamatemate kē nei nōku kia tau mai he māramatanga ki a au, kia paku hīnātore noa mai rānei (HM 3/1995). / Mine is not a rhetorical question, or a fabrication, but a real concern of mine to obtain some enlightenment, or even a glimmer of light.
2. (verb) (-a) to be dying, declining.
I a Te Horetā e whakamatemate ana ka whakahaua e ia kia tuhia ana kōrero ki tōna hoa Pākehā i Ākarana (TTR 1990:195). / When Te Horetā was dying he asked that a letter be written to his Pākehā friend in Auckland.
3. (noun) curiosity, inquisitiveness.
Tino whakahaua ana ia kia kaua rawa ia e titiro he aha kei roto i tētahi o ngā kāpata o te whare. I te wā ko ia anake i te kāinga, kore rawa i taea e ia te pēhi tana whakamatemate, huakina ana e ia te kāpata (TTR 2000:182). / Strict orders forbade her from looking at what was in one of the cupboards in the homestead. When she was alone, unable to contain her curiosity, she opened the cupboard.
