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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

maire

1. (noun) maire - tall forest trees of several species.

E tāreia ana ki te maire, ki te mānuka, ki tētehi atu rākau mārō rānei, taua turuturu, he mea kia mārō ai te rākau mō te ngau a te kākā (mōkai), i tōna turuturu, e kore e riwha (pakaru) (JPS 1895:135). / The support for a bird snare was fashioned out of maire, mānuka, or some other hard wood, in order that it may be sufficiently hard when bitten by the decoy kākā to prevent its chipping.

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Synonyms: maire raunui, maire rauriki


2. black maire, Nestegis cunninghamii - a tall handsome canopy tree growing up to 23 m high with a stout, straight trunk. Now found only in isolated North Island forests. The long leaves are leathery, but smaller in adult trees. Wood is heavy, dark brown, often streaked with black, and very hard. The bark is rough and corky. Red (sometimes yellow) fruits are profuse, giving the tree a bright yellow glow.

Synonyms: maire raunui

maire

1. (verb) to sing.


2. (noun) song.

Ka ahiahi ka puta atu a Rongorongo ki waho ki te whāngai i a Tāne-roroa, ka rongo ia ki te maire a Uenuku (NM 1928:90). / In the evening, when Rongorongo came out to feed Tāne-roroa, she heard Uenuku's song.

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maire

1. (noun) horn (of cattle, etc.), antler.

He maha ngā tākuta me ngā Pākehā mōhio e kī ana ko aua mea e rua he maire, ehara i te niho, nō te mea he anga mārō anō kei waho, he iho ngāwari nei kei roto (TWMNT 9/2/1875:36). / Many doctors and knowledgeable Pākehā are saying that those two things are horns, not teeth, because they have a hard outer shell and a soft inner core.

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maire rauriki

1. (noun) white maire, Nestegis lanceolata - tree to 15 m tall with a trunk to 1 m in diameter and greyish white bark. Leaves are darkish green but more slender than maire rau nui. Timber is durable and hard so was used for kō (digging sticks) and other tools.

Synonyms: maire, maire raunui

maire raunui

1. (noun) black maire, Nestegis cunninghamii - a tall handsome canopy tree growing up to 23 m high with a stout, straight trunk. Now found only in isolated North Island forests. The long leaves are leathery, but smaller in adult trees. Wood is heavy, dark brown, often streaked with black, and very hard. The bark is rough and corky. Red (sometimes yellow) fruits are profuse, giving the tree a bright yellow glow.

See also maire

Synonyms: maire, maire rauriki

maire tawake

1. (noun) swamp maire, Syzygium maire - a tree of swampy forests with a smooth-barked trunk, red berries and elliptic-oblong leaves tapering at each end and in pairs.

maire rōroro

1. (noun) narrow-leaved maire, Nestegis montana - a many-branched, round-headed tree 10-15 m high with slender branches. Leaves are shiny, narrow and leathery. The trunk is usually short. Found from sea-level to 600 m in forests of the North Island and the northern South Island. Also known as maire kōtae.

See also maire

Synonyms: maire kōtae

maire kōtae

1. (noun) narrow-leaved maire, Nestegis montana - a many-branched, round-headed tree 10-15 m high with slender branches. Leaves are shiny, narrow and leathery. The trunk is usually short. Found from sea-level to 600 m in forests of the North Island and the northern South Island. Also known as maire rōroro.

See also maire, maire rōroro

Synonyms: maire rōroro

Matakahi maire

1. A wedge of maire (which was used to split timber: said of an individual or group who although small can overcome a great task or larger group.

Ahakoa he iti tō kāhui he matakahi maire tonu / all though your group is small it will accomplish great things.

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whare maire

1. (noun) house set apart for the instruction in sacred lore – especially the lore related to te kete tūātea, to karakia and mākutu. Sometimes as one word, i.e. wharemaire.

Ko te whare maire he whare mākutu e whakaakona ana ngā tāngata ki reira ki te patu i te tangata, i te kai, i te rākau, i te whenua, me te waewae o te tangata, me te mata rākau o te parekura (WW 1913:10). / The whare maire is a house of witchcraft where men are taught the rituals for destroying people, food, trees, land, spells for retarding a person's footsteps, and spells said over weapons of war.

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maire taiki

1. (noun) New Zealand sandalwood, Mida salicifolia - slender tree of lowland or lower montane forest, up to 6 m tall. Leaves are slender, leathery and somewhat glossy above. Fruit is narrow and bright red.

See also maire

Synonyms: tāiko

Maire tū wao

1. A maire which stands within the overgrowth unhindered by other trees around it.

E kore te maire tū wao e raru i ngā raruraru o te wā / the maire which stands in the forest is not daunted by the present problems.

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tuhuhi

1. (noun) swamp maire, Syzygium maire - a tree of swampy forests with a smooth-barked trunk, red berries and elliptic-oblong leaves tapering at each end and in pairs.

See also maire tawake

puka

1. (noun) puka, Meryta sinclairii - a tree with large, shiny, leathery leaves found in warm climates and native to the Three Kings Islands and on the Hen and Chicken Islands. Fruit black and succulent. It is common as a garden tree in warmer parts of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

See also pukanui

Synonyms: pukanui


2. (noun) shining broadleaf, Griselinia lucida - a shrub with large, leathery, very glossy, alternating leaves. The fruit is dark purple. It often grows up in trees, extending its white, pliable roots down the trunk of the host tree, eventually becoming an independent tree.

See also akapuka


3. (noun) puka, Muehlenbeckia australis - a woody climbing plant to 10 m covering shrubs or small trees or trailing over rocks. Leaves ovate to 3-lobed or fiddle-shaped and dark green. Fruit black and wrinkled.

See also pōhuehue

Synonyms: pōhuehue, pukanui


4. (noun) swamp maire, Syzygium maire - a tree of swampy forests with a smooth-barked trunk, red berries and elliptic-oblong leaves tapering at each end and in pairs.

See also maire tawake

whāwhākou

1. (noun) tāwari, Ixerba brexioides - endemic bushy tree with narrow, thick, leathery, shiny leaves and widely separated blunt teeth. The starry white flowers have five petals, each with a prominent stamen. Found in forests in the northern North Island.

See also tāwari


2. (noun) swamp maire, Syzygium maire - a tree of swampy forests with a smooth-barked trunk, red berries and elliptic-oblong leaves tapering at each end and in pairs.

See also maire tawake

Mea

1. (loan) (personal name) Mair.

E hoa, tēnei anō tētehi take, ko tētehi Pākehā he āpiha takiwā, ko tōna ingoa ko Tawa, e noho nei i te rohe o Te Arawa, koia te tino tangata kino, i tino tau ai te kino ki a Te Arawa, ā tōna ingoa Pākehā ko Te Mea (TW 22/6/1878:8/316) / Friend, this is a concern, that there is a Pākehā, a District Officer called Tawa, living in the district of Te Arawa, who is a very evil man who treats Te Arawa badly and his English name is Mair.

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Tawa

1. (personal name) Gilbert Mair (1843-1923) - Pākehā soldier and public servant who could speak Māori. Took part in many campaigns between 1867 and 1872 leading Te Arawa soldiers against Pai Marire followers, Waikato iwi and Te Kooti.

Kātahi ka puta mai a Tawa me tana ope taua o Te Arawa anō i te 7 o Pēpuere, ka turakina te haki mā, te tohu o te rangaawatea (TTR 1990:221). / Then Gilbert Mair and his Te Arawa troops appeared on 7 February and tore down the white flag, the symbol of a truce.

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See also Mea

kohuorangi

1. (noun) white mistletoe, Tupeia antarctica - a hemiparasitic shrub with broad to narrow leaves. Flowers yellow or yellow-green and fruit white to pink, often speckled darker pink. Found particularly on tarata, maire raunui and whauwhaupaku.

See also tāpia

pirita

1. (noun) supplejack, Ripogonum scandens - a high-climbing, woody native plant with tough pliant stems used in the construction of hīnaki, etc. Longish leaves are opposite, toothless, with obvious lengthwise parallel veins and the round fruit bright red. Stem is usually finger-thick, smooth and almost black.

Ki te mau mātau e takahi ana i tēnei ture a rātau, ka whiua mātau ki te kirikau, ki te pirita rānei, mamae rawa (HP 1991:32). / If we were caught disobeying this rule of theirs we were punished with the strap or a supplejack cane and it really hurt.

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See also kareao

Synonyms: kekereao, karewao, taiore, kakareao, kakarewao, akapirita


2. (noun) green mistletoe, Ileostylus micranthus - a hemiparasitic shrub with thick leaves of various shapes. Flowers greenish yellow and fruit pale yellow. Found on a range of hosts throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand.

See also pirinoa


3. (noun) scarlet mistletoe, Peraxilla colensoi - a hemiparasitic bushy shrub with thick leaves and obscured viens. Flowers red, long and narrow, fruit oval and yellow. Found on tawhai, pōhutukawa and Pittosporum species.

See also pirinoa

Synonyms: pirinoa


4. (noun) yellow mistletoe, Alepis flavida - a hemiparasitic shrub with thick bright green to yellow-green leaves. Flowers yellow and fruit oval and yellow. Found mainly on tāwhai species.

See also pirinoa


5. (noun) white mistletoe, Tupeia antarctica - a hemiparasitic shrub with broad to narrow leaves. Flowers yellow or yellow-green and fruit white to pink, often speckled darker pink. Found particularly on tarata, maire raunui and whauwhaupaku.

See also tāpia


6. (noun) leafless mistletoe, Korthalsella salicornioides - very small, tufted, succulent, leafless mistletoe. Dense mass of green to reddish-yellow beaded succulent stems to 10cm long growing on twigs of another plant (mainly mānuka and kānuka). Leaves (stems) 3-10mm long by 1-3mm wide, round. Flowers tiny, fruit small, yellowish.

tāpia

1. (noun) white mistletoe, Tupeia antarctica - a hemiparasitic shrub with broad to narrow leaves. Flowers yellow or yellow-green and fruit white to pink, often speckled darker pink. Found particularly on tarata, maire raunui and whauwhaupaku.

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