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Loan words

Historical loan words

kū

1. (verb) to make a low inarticulate sound, coo.

Kū mai ana ngā kūkupa, kū atu ana te tamaiti (PK 2008:350). / The pigeons cooed and the child cooed back.

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2. (noun) one-stringed bow-like instrument - played by tapping with a stick while using the mouth cupped over the string as a modifying resonator. It was made of supplejack with a muka string, which was also plucked and scraped.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 166;)

Nā, ka tae te mahi, he kū, he pākuru, he tō, he pūtōrino, he kōauau, he tōrehe, he tī papaki ringa, he porotiti, he kaupeka - kāore a Kae i kata (JPS 1928:270). / So they tried playing kū, pākuru, tō, pūtōrino, kōauau, tōrehe, hand-clapping, porotiti, and kaupeka - but Kae did not laugh.

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