patu
1. (verb) (-a) to strike, hit, beat, assault, kill, subdue, ill-treat.
Ko tēnei tū tohorā he tohorā tipua, kāore e pērā ana i ētahi atu tū āhua tohorā e patua ana i konei, arā i te hamupēke, i te pāmu-wēra (TP 10/1902:11). / This type of whale is a demon, it's not like some other kinds of whales which are killed here, such as the humpback and the sperm whale.
Synonyms: whakahinga, tinei, whakamate, tope, tukituki
2. (noun) beating, hitting, assault, killing, weapon, club.
(Te Pihinga Textbook (Ed. 2): 31;)
Nō te matenga o Paurini, he rangatira nō Ngāti Tūwharetoa, i Te Pōrere i Oketopa, ka rere atu te pouaru ki a Kawepō, kātahi ka hāua atu ā muri o te māhunga ki te patu (TTR 1990:31). / When Paurini, a chief of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, was killed at Te Pōrere in October, the widow leapt at Kawepō and clubbed him on the back of his head.
See also patu pounamu