2. (verb) to be few, several.
Ka ruarua nei āna waiata i tukua atu e ia ki a Apirana Ngata (TTR 1996:188). / He submitted several songs to Apirana Ngata.
3. (adjective) be few, several.
Kāti, nō te taenga mai o Kuīni Irihāpeti Te Tuarua ki Rotorua i te 2 o Hānuere 1954, takahia ana e Heke te kawa, he ruarua nei ngā miniti e hauoraora ake ana tana kōrero ki te Kuīni mō te takoha roera, arā, mō te tokotoko hiriwa (TTR 2000:27). / Well, when Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Rotorua on 2 January 1954, Heke broke protocol by speaking animately to the Queen for several minutes about the royal gift of the silver cane.
4. (modifier) few, several.
Ko tētahi tēnei o ngā waiata ruarua i uru ai he kupu mō te moa (M 2006:164). / This is one of the few songs where words about the moa are included.