koru
1. (verb) to be folded, looped, coiled.
E koru ana te taura kia kore ai e whīwhiwhi. / The rope is coiled up so that it won't become tangled.
Synonyms: takaāmiomio
2. (modifier) folded, looped, coiled.
Ko te pai o te taura koru, kāore e whīwhiwhi ina whakahorohorotia atu (PK 2008:334). / The benefit of a coiled rope is that it won't tangle when it's paid out.
3. (noun) fold, loop, coil, curled shoot.
Arā anō he aruhe i kainga e te Māori, tae atu ki ngā pihinga o te kōwaowao, te rereti, te mouku, te huruhuru whenua, te koru o te kiokio me te pikopiko (Te Ara 2011). / Māori ate other ground ferns, including the young fronds of hound’s tongue fern, rereti, hen and chickens fern and shining spleenwort. They ate the curled shoots of kiokio and common shield fern.
Synonyms: kono, koropewapewa, koromeke, koropewa, pōkuru, tau
4. (noun) spiral motif (in kōwhaiwhai patterns and carving).
He nui ngā kōrero e mea ana, ko te koru e tohu ana i te tipu hou, inā tōna rite ki te pītau huruwhenua (RTA 2014:107). / There are numerous accounts that say the koru symbolises a new shoot, like the fern frond.
