tere
1. (verb) to be quick, swift, fast.
Ina pania te parāoa ki te tiamu kia tere tonu te whawhao i te parāoa ki roto o te waha; ki te kore ka kapi katoa te parāoa i te rango (TTT 1/9/1931:39). / When the bread is spread with jam quickly put it into your mouth; if you don't the bread will be covered with blowflies.
Ko te teina, ko Tūrongo, i tere te whiwhi manu (NIT 1995:63). / The younger brother, Tūrongo, was quick to obtain birds.
Synonyms: teretere, whitawhita, hihiko, horo, pekepeke, horohoro, hohoro, tūkawikawi, wawewawe, whiwhita, kakama, pepeke, kama, māngi, naho, kamakama
2. (adjective) be quick, swift, fast.
He tere tonu hoki ia ki te oma (HP 1991:192). / And he was quite fast at running.
3. (modifier) quickly, swiftly, rapidly, fast, quick - despite the example below tere does not usually follow immediately after a verb.
Kua kitea e te Pākehā he huarahi patu tere i te wēra, hāunga anō te pū (TTT 1/8/1929:1045). / The Pākehā have found a way of killing whales quickly, apart from with a gun.
He hōiho tere tonu a Maraea ki te toi, ahakoa tōna āhua kaumātua (HP 1991:45). / Maraea was a fast horse at trotting, despite being somewhat old.
4. (modifier) quickly, promptly, readily, speedily, rapidly - sometimes used before another base, usually a verb, to indicate that something is done speedily in a short space of time.
(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 65-66;)
I tere haurangi ia nā tana tere inu i te wāina. / She rapidly became drunk because she drank the wine too quickly.
Synonyms: wawe, rere, tangetange, kimonga kanohi, tipitipi ana, tonu, ake
5. (noun) speed, swiftness, velocity, alacrity, tempo, quickness, rapidity, promptness.
E kore pea te tangata e whakapono ki te kīia atu e 640 māero te tere o taua whetū i te hēkene kotahi (TP 1/6/1901:11). / A person would probably never believe it if it was said that the speed of that comet was 640 miles per second.
Synonyms: moata, kakama, parahutihuti
