urutā
1. (verb) to spread (as a disease, etc.).
I taua wā anō, ka tīmata mai i Ahitereiria te urutā mate piwa nā te kakā o te tīpona waitinana, ā, nā te mataku kei urutā mai ki Aotearoa nei (TTR 1996:139). / Also at that time the bubonic plague had brocken out in Australia and the fear was that it might spread to Aotearoa/New Zealand.
2. (noun) epidemic, plague, pandemic, pestilence, deadly disease - usually as mate urutā.
I te pānga o te urutā tarutawhiti i 1918 ka whakahōhiperatia a Tūtāmure (TTR 1994:6). / In the influenza epidemic of 1918 the Tūtāmure meeting house was turned into a hospital.
See also mate urutā
Synonyms: mate urutā, muimui, taru, mui
