tawatawa
1. (verb) to be mottled (like the skin of a mackerel).
Synonyms: kōpure, kōrangorango, tāingoingo, tarare, kōhangohango
2. (noun) blue mackerel, Scomber australasicus - a blue-green fish with a pattern of darker zigzag lines along the back. Abundant in coastal waters.
Mōrunga rawa ake te rā ka puta ngā iwi i pōhiritia rā; ānā, me he tuarāwharau ki te waha mai i ngā ika tauraki kua maroke, i ngā hāpuku, i ngā mangō, i ngā tawatawa, i ngā maomao, i te tini noa iho o ngā kai o te moana (JPS 1911:21). / The sun was already high when the tribes who were invited appeared; what a sight it was! Like the thatched roof of a house were the bearers of the dried fish, which had been prepared, groper, shark, blue mackerel, maomao, and all kinds of foods from the sea.
Synonyms: tewetewe
3. (noun) maidenhair ferns, Adiantum spp. - terrestrial ferns.
See also huruhuru tapairu, makawe tapairu
