parāoa
1. (noun) sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus - a toothed whale with a massive head and narrow lower jaw, typically feeding at great depths on squid. It grows to 18 m. Also used as a general term for whales.
(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 1-7;)
2. (noun) whalebone.
Ka nanao a ia ki tana patu parāoa, ka ākina ngā pane o te hoariri, mate rawa (Te Ara 2012). / He reached for his whalebone club and smashed the heads of the enemy, killing them.
3. (noun) whalebone weapon.
He tōpuni te kahu, he parāoa te rākau (NM 1928:87). / The cloak was a dogskin cloak of dark hair with white borders and the weapon a whalebone club.
