konihi
1. (verb) (-tia) to creep, sneak up on, go stealthily.
Mahara noa ia ko te tāne pea tēnei e hoki mai ana i te ngahere; nō te āta tirohanga atu, aue rā! Ko te wahine e konihi haere mai ana me te naihi kokonaiti i te ringa e mau ana (TWM 6/2/1864). / He thought that it might be a man returning from the forest, but when he looked carefully, oh dear! It was a women creeping along with a knife for splitting coconuts held in her hand.
2. (verb) (-tia) to attack by stealth, attack by surprise.
Kātahi ngā Pākehā ka mea ki te whawhai, kātahi ka rapu utu mō ō rātou tūpāpaku i mate ki Puketākauere i a Waikato, mō ā rātou taonga i riro i a Waikato, mō ngā Pākehā i konihitia e Waikato (TH 1/12/1860:2). / Then the Pākehā decided to fight and to seek revenge for their casualties who were killed at Puketākauere by Waikato, for their possessions taken by Waikato, and for the Pākehā who were attacked by surprise by Waikato.
3. (modifier) stealthily, avoiding observation.
E haere ana rātou, inamata e whakataka ana te ara konihi a Te Puhi-huia rātou ko ngā hoa (NM 1928:143). / They are going, but immediately Te Puhi-huia and her companions take a circuitous route along a path avoiding observation.
4. (noun) marauding party moving stealthily.
Ko tēnei, ehara i te pūhaehae, engari he mauāhara, he hiahia rapu utu mō ngā mea i mate i te konihi, i te hīanga (KO 2/1/1890:4). / This was not jealousy, but hatred, a desire to seek revenge for the ones killed by the marauding party moving stealthily and with deception.
5. (noun) predator.
Ka noho te kina ki raro toka, ki roto kapiti rānei ki raro i te papa o te tai pari. He rite tonu te wā e mau ana ngā kōhatu, angaanga, rimurapa hoki ki a ia hei huna i a ia mai i ngā tāmure me ētahi atu konihi (Te Ara 2015). / Sea urchins live under rocks or in crevices under rock shelves on the shore below the high-tide mark. They often have small stones, shells, and kelp on them to hide from snapper and other predators.
