manu
1. (noun) bird - any winged creature including bats, cicadas, butterflies, etc.
Ki te kore he kai, kua riro mā tētahi o ngā tohunga e karakia, kua rere mai he kai ki runga ki te waka. He ika, he manu me ētahi atu tūmomo kai mata (HP 1991:9). / If there was no food, one of the tohunga would say a ritual chant and food would fly onto the vessel - fish, birds and other types of raw food.
2. (noun) kite.
Ka eke ki runga, ka whakahakahaka iho ngā manu rā, ka piki anō whakarunga ngā manu rā, aua tonu ake, ka tiu anō ki runga ki te pā (JPS 1905:76). / Those kites ascended to a height, and then descended, then climbed upwards again until they were a long way up, and swooped again over the pā.
Synonyms: manu tū, pākau, manu aute, manu tukutuku, horewai
3. (noun) person held in high esteem - a figurative use usually qualified by an epithet, e.g. manukura (leader in council, leader).
Synonyms: manukura
4. (noun) family muttonbirding territory - each muttonbirding island is divided into a number of manu, with boundaries defined by geographic features, trees, etc.
