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Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

piupiu

1. (verb) (-a) to wave about, move to and fro, oscillate, swing, skip (with a rope), wield, brandish.

Tino mīharo ana ngā tamariki o te marae ki te hōiho o te Kōmihana, o John Cullen e kanikani haere mai ana, me te Kōmihana e piupiu mai ana i tana pītara (TTR 2000:246). / The children of the marae admired Commissioner John Cullen’s horse as it danced towards them, with the commissioner waving his pistol.

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Synonyms: ngapu, ngāruerue, pioi, takaoreore, kōpiupiu, ngarue, kaurori, koiri


2. (noun) skipping, skipping rope.


3. (noun) waist-to-knees garment made of flax - has a wide waistband and is used in modern times for kapa haka performances.

Nā Te Arawa te poi tuatahi, e 50 te matua, he mā te kākahu, he piupiu te paki (TP 1/8/1901:6). / Te Arawa performed the first poi song and there were 50 in their group, with white garments and piupiu as their skirts.

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4. (noun) crown fern, Blechnum discolor - tufted native ground fern with an erect crown of fronds, paler on the undersides. Separate, rather shrivelled, more erect fronds bear the spores. Also spreads from runners to form colonies. Common in drier and open forest.


5. (noun) kiokio, palm-leaf fern, Blechnum novae-zelandiae - a robust native, creeping ground fern with long drooping fronds commonly found on damp road banks and alongside forest streams. Leaflets strap-like and very finely toothed. New growth tinged pink or red.

See also kiokio

Synonyms: tupari, kiokio, horokio


6. (noun) gully fern, Pneumatopteris pennigera - tufted native ground fern, sometimes forming a short thin trunk. Its brown-stalked, pale, dark-veined fronds have 15-30 pairs of long, round-notched leaflets. Common in damp forest gullies.

See also pākauroharoha

Synonyms: pākau, pākauroharoha

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