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Loan words

Historical loan words

Filters

Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

kura

1. (adjective) be red, scarlet.


2. (modifier) red, scarlet, red feather.

He kahu kura te kākahu (NM 1928:87). / The garment was a red feather cloak.

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3. (noun) red feathers, feathers used as decoration, treasure, valued possession, heirloom, precious possession, sacred, divine law, philosophy, darling, chief.

Takoto mai, e koro, kia tangihia koe e ō iwi. Auē! Ka mau te punga here o te waka nei. Ka ngaro koe, te kaihautū, te kākākura o roto i te pōkai, te puhi o Aotearoa, te kura whakahirahira o Te Waipounamu, te mauri o te whenua, te mauri o te tangata, haere! Haere rā! (TP 7/1906:9). / Lie in state, sir, to be wept over by your people. Oh, dear! The anchor of this canoe is taken. You are gone, the fugleman, the leader of the flock, the adored one of the North Island, the important treasure of the South Island, the life force of the land and the people. Depart! Farewell!

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4. (noun) glow.

Ko ngā ingoa o taua kura koia tēnei - he āniwaniwa, he koroirangi kei te rā, kei te marama, kei te whakaumu te marama, te rā rānei, koia nei ngā whakahua. Engari ko te tino ingoa ia he kurahaupō tō te marama, he kura-hau-awatea tō te rā (JPS 1927:357). / The names of that glow are these - āniwaniwa and koroirangi pertain to the sun or moon, when the moon or sun are encircled, those are the terms. But the genuine names are kurahaupō, that is of the moon, and kura-hau-awatea is that of the sun.

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5. (noun) bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica - a brown-and-white migratory wading bird with a long, slightly upturned, black bill and a pink base which breeds in the northern hemisphere and summers in the southern. This term is applied to the red plumage of the bird immediately prior to the migration to the northern hemisphere.

Ka mārama pea te manu nei: he kuaka te ingoa iwi, he kura, he kakao, he karoro, ngā ingoa hapū (HKW 1/11/1901:1). / This bird probably needs explaining: the species name is 'kuaka' and 'kura', 'kakao' and 'karoro' are the varietal names.

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See also kuaka

Synonyms: kakao, rakakao, hakakao, karoro, tarakakao, kuaka, rīrīwaka, kuhikuhiwaka

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