pāpuni
1. (verb) (-tia) to dam, stop (a stream of water, etc.), staunch, check the flow of blood.
Ko te mea nāna i pāpuni ai te nekehanga whakamua ko te take me Māori, me Pākehā kē rānei hei pīhopa (TTR 1996:6). / The matter that blocked progress was the issue of whether the bishop should be Māori or Pākehā.
2. (verb) to be blocked, dried up.
Ka tae mātau ki reira kua pāpuni kē te ngutuawa i te kirikiri (HP 1991:16). / When we reached the river mouth it had been blocked by the sand.
3. (noun) dam.
Kua tīmata kē te kāwanatanga ki te titiro, ki te hoko i ētahi o ngā pāpuni hiko. / The government has already begun to look at selling some of the electricity dams.
