kato
1. (modifier) flowing, flood (of the tide).
Ko tēnei ka eke mātou ki runga poti, ka hoe ki ngā kāinga i te tai kato, kei eke ki ngā tāhuna onepū, kei kore rawa rānei e tata atu i te mimiti rawa o te wai, ā, takoto maroke ana ngā tāhuna (TWMNT 16/5/1876:114). / And now when we board a boat, we row to the villages on the flowing tide, lest we go aground on the sand banks, or are unable to get close to our destination because of the receding tide and are left high and dry on the sand banks.
2. (noun) flow, current.
I ahu mai te ingoa o Waikato nō te hekenga o Tainui i Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa. Ka tae mai ki Aotearoa, ka tau te waka ki waho i te wahapū o te awa, ka tohu ngā tāngata o runga ki te kaha o te kato o ngā wai o te awa i te wai tai. Nō konei tapaina ai te ingoa o te awa, ko Waikato (Te Ara 2015). / The name Waikato originated during the migration of the Tainui canoe over the Pacific Ocean. When it reached New Zealand and arrived off the mouth of the river, the crew remarked upon the pull of the river current in the sea. So the river was named Waikato.
