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Historical loan words

tāwhana

1. (verb) (-tia) to be curved, span, rebound, vault.

Ka tare i runga he haki, he kara, ko ngā āhua katoa o te kahukura e tāwhana nei i runga (TP 1/2/1901:13). / Hanging on it was a flag with all the colours of the rainbow forming an arch on it.

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Synonyms: turapa, tāwhanawhana


2. (modifier) arching, curved, bowed.

Ko Uenuku, ko Rongomai, ko Kahukura ... Ko ngā atua ēnei o te kahukura tāwhana (M 2006:198). / Uenuku, ko Rongomai, ko Kahukura ... These are the atua of the arching rainbow.

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3. (noun) arch, arc, rainbow.

I hangaia he tāwhana ki ngā tiriti hei tomokanga mō te manuhiri tūārangi, hei whakapiringa hoki i ngā kupu pōwhiri (TP 1/6/1901:11). / An arch to the streets was constructed as an entrance way for visitors from afar and for the attachment of words of welcome.

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Synonyms: Tūāwhiorangi, āniwaniwa, kōpere, Ōuenuku, tāwhanawhana, āheahea, atuapiko, kahukura, Uenuku


4. (noun) looper moth - a general term for looper moths.

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