matenui
1. (verb) (-hia,-tia) to desire earnestly, show attention, desire desperately.
Ko tāku e matenui nei kia mau rātou ki ngā tikanga o te ora mō te tinana, kia kaha ki te rapu i te mātauranga o te Pākehā, kia uru tēnei mea a te pukuahuwhenua ki roto i a rātou (TKO 3/1914:6). / What I earnestly desire is that they practise a healthy lifestyle, energetically seek Pākehā knowledge, and that they become industrious.
2. (modifier) precious, valued, treasured, prized.
Awe tākupu: He huruhuru nō raro i te kēkē o te manu, o te kōtuku; he taonga matenui hoki nā ngā tūpuna, hai pare māhunga mō te hunga ora, mō te hunga mate (M 2006:252). / Australasian gannet plumes: Feathers from the under-wings of the gannet bird; precious possessions of the ancestors used as head adornments for both the living and the dead.
Synonyms: matapopore, tongarerewa, māpuna, tongarewa, marihi, matahīapo, kahurangi, mōmōhanga, puipuiaki, puiaki, hokoi, kāmehameha, piripoho
3. (noun) earnest desire, longing, yearning.
Nā he nui tō mātou matenui ki tēnei tima, te take kei mate tonu mātou i te hoenga mai o ā mātou taonga i te ia nanakia o Waikato (TPM 9/3/1863:11). / We have an earnest desire for a steamer, the reason being is so that we don't have to continue paddling our goods against the treacherous currents of the Waikato river.
Synonyms: korotū, maingo, minamina, tōmina, kuatau, pūkōnohinohi, mina, mōhukihuki, manako, hihiri, koroingo, kāwatawata
