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Idioms

Phrases

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Loan words

Historical loan words

tumu

1. (noun) foundation.

Ko ngā whakairo i oti i whakamaua ki te anga whare Pākehā he raima te tumu (TTR 1994:62). / The completed carvings were attached to a European frame on concrete foundations.

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See also tumu kōrero


2. (noun) stump, base.

Ka pahure ngā tau ka pirau te take. Ka poroa atu tērā wāhanga ka whakaarahia anō. Nā te maha o ngā poroporonga ka poto rawa te rākau nei. Nō te tau 1954 tonu nei, ka tukuna te tumu ki te whare pupuri taonga o Tūranga (TTR 1990:16). / Over the years the base rotted. That part was cut off and it was re-erected. Because it was shortened many times this tree was very short. In 1954 the stump was gifted to the Gisborne Museum.

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3. (noun) post, pole, stake.

Heoi ka tūpato tana iwi ki tērā, ka tōia ngā waka ki ngā tumu ka herea, kia kore ai ia e hoe atu ki te moutere (Te Ara 2014). / However her people were suspicious and dragged their canoes up to the mooring stakes and tied them up so that she could not paddle across to the island.

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See also tumu herenga waka

Synonyms: pōhi, pouihi, toko, tiripou, turupou, tumutumu, pōra, poupou, pou, tīrou, tōpito o te ao, pōhi, turuturu, koteo, tokotoko


4. (noun) dependable leader.

Ko ia tonu te tumu here i ngā iwi e rua i pai ai te noho i Te Ara-a-Kiwa (TTR 1990:329). / He was a dependable leader of both peoples for good relationships in Foveaux Strait.

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See also tumu whakarae


5. (noun) main post of the palisading of a pā.

He nui ngā wharepuni, wharau, me ngā whare, kāuta, pātaka, pūkiore; he whakairo ngā tumu o te pā, me ngā kūwaha me ētahi atu mahi (TP 11/1909:4). / There are many sleeping houses, shelters, houses, cooking sheds, store houses and houses with decorative panels; and the main palisade posts of the pā are carved, as well as the gateways and other constructions.

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6. (noun) stake for marking boundaries of fishing grounds.

Ka makere ia ki te wai, kau atu ana. Ka pā atu ia ki tētahi pou e tū ana i te taha o te tāhuna, o te hōhonu, he tumu nā tōna matua, nā Umukaria, kei te moana. Ko Hinewhata te ingoa o taua tumu. Ko tēnei tumu ko tōna ritenga koia tēnei. Ka whiwhi te tino rangatira i te oneone, whiwhi ana ki uta, whiwhi ana ki te moana, koia i meinga ai, 'kei uta ētahi o ōna oneone, kei te wai ētahi' (Biggs 1997:109). / She dropped into the water and swam. She came upon a post standing on the edge of a sandbank and the deep water, a fishing boundary marker in the lake belonging to her father, Umukaria. Its name was Hine-whata. The significance of this fishing boundary marker was this. When an important chief possessed territory he owned the land and the lake or sea, so it was said 'part of his territory is on land and part in the water'.

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7. (noun) bird snare.

Ko te tumu, he peka rākau iti kua wehe te pito kia rua ngā peka iti iho. Ka herea ngā pito o ēnei peka iti. Ka waihotia te peka kia hono tonu ki te rākau, ka tapahia rānei ka whakamaua ki rākau kē. Kātahi ka whakairia he kono ki runga me te taura i te taha o te kaihopu kei tōna maimai e huna ana. Ka tiaina te taura ki te whenua. Tau ana he manu ki te tumu ka kūmea te taura kia mau ai te manu i te kono (Te Ara 2014). / The tumu was a small branch that divided into two branchlets. These were tied together at the end. The branch was left growing on the tree, or cut and reattached to another tree. Then a snare-loop was laid on it and a cord tied to this loop led to a shelter where the fowler was hidden. The cord was stuck in the ground. When a bird landed on the tumu, the fowler pulled the loop to catch the bird in the snare-loop.

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8. (noun) trunk (of the body).

Te kauwae o Tāwhaki, te kakī o Tāwhaki, te porongāue o Tāwhaki, te tumu o Tāwhaki (White 1 1887:93). / Tāwhaki's jaw, Tāwhaki's neck, the nape of Tāwhaki's neck, Tāwhaki's trunk.

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9. (noun) base - a word that expresses lexical or real meaning in a sentence or phrase, e.g. whare, haere, hea, Te Kūiti, tātahi, Ani, riro.

Tumu: He kupu kiko koia te karihi o te kīanga (HJ 2015:12). / Base: This is a meaningful word that is the nucleus of the phrase.

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Synonyms: kupu kiko

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