matemate
1. (stative) be sickly, ailing, defective, developing a fault, caught or die in numbers.
(Te Pihinga Study Guide (Ed. 1): 31;)
I maharatia he pīwa, otirā i te taenga ki ngā rā mahana kātahi tērā ka matemate te tāngata, me te rango mate e haupū ana i ngā huanui, tē taea te tanu (TWMNT 22/3/1879:354). / It was thought that it was a fever, but when the warm days arrived then many people died and the dead were pilled up on the roads, they were unable to bury them.
Synonyms: māruru, māuiui, hanga mate, anuhē
2. (modifier) sickly, ailing, defective, developing a fault.
Mā Hōhua Tāwhaki e ui, "E hika mā, kātahi anō te kai ko te kata kāore ōna kākano?" Ā, māku e whakahoki, "Ē, he kākano. Heoi anō te mahi he rui, he rui, he rui, me te Tutahe o Ioka i rui rā i ana kata ki ngā wāhi katoa e tae ana ia, ā kei te rui tonu, hei whakamāhorahora, hei whakamāhanahana, hei whakahauora i tēnei ao matemate (TTT 1/1/1928:722). / Hōhua Tāwhaki will ask, "My friends, does the food of laughter not have a source?" And I will respond, "Yes, there is a source. All that has to be done is to scatter and sow, just as the Duchess of York spread her laughter everywhere she went, and she is still sowing, making people feel comfortable, stimulating and revitalising this ailing world.
