kōpū
1. (noun) belly, abdomen.
Heoi, ka noho nei te taniwha, ko tana mahi, he patu i ngā tira haere; arā, he kai i ngā tāngata, horopuku tonu, ahakoa he kawenga tā te tangata, ka horomia pukutia e taua taniwha — ahakoa he tamaiti i runga i te hākui e waha ana, ka heke tahi rāua ki roto i te kōpū o te taniwha nei — ahakoa ngā tokotoko me ngā taiaha, ka pau katoa te horo (JPS 1905:200). / And so the taniwha remained there. His occupation was killing the travelling parties - that is, he used to swallow them whole, even if they had loads on their backs they were swallowed up by that taniwha - mothers carrying children on their backs, they went down together into the belly of this taniwha - even walking sticks and taiaha, they were completely swallowed up.
2. (noun) womb, uterus.
Ko te kupu ‘whenua’ mō Papatūānuku. Heoi, arā anō tērā mahinga o te kupu ‘whenua’ mō te ewe, te kaiwhāngai, te kaitauawhi i te tamaiti e tipu ana i te kōpū o tōna whāea (Te Ara 2015). / 'Whenua' is the word for land. However, there is another use of the word 'whenua' for the placenta, the organ that nourishes and supports the child growing in the womb of its mother.
3. (noun) midst, bosom - often used in the phrase kōpū o te whenua or kōpū o Papatūānuku in reference to burial of the dead.
Haere rā, whakangaro atu i a koe ki te kōpū o te whenua, ki ngā rua kōiwi o ngā mātua, tīpuna ē, haere rā, haere atu rā! (EM 2002:190). / Farewell, disappear to the bosom of the earth, to the burial place of the bones of the parents and ancestors, farewell, depart!
Synonyms: waenganui, waenga, waengarahi
4. (noun) belly skin with down (of a bird) - used as an ornament.
Kua herua ake taua tangata rā i te pō, kua tiatiaina ki te raukura, e rua kōpū toroa ki ngā taringa (NM 1928:84). / That man had combed up his hair that night, stuck a feather plume in his hair and had two belly skins of albatross down in his ears.
5. (noun) inner garment.
Ko te pūeru i waho, ko te kahakaha i roto, ko te kōpū i roto rawa (NM 1926:116). / The course cape on the outside, the kahakaha underneath and the kōpū right inside that.
