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Idioms

Phrases

Proverbs

Loan words

Historical loan words

mana

1. (verb) to be legal, effectual, binding, authoritative, valid.

Ka mārō te takoto a te kupu kia rāhuitia ngā whenua Māori katoa o Aotearoa kia kaua ai e taea te hoko ki te karauna ki te tangata noa rānei, ā mā te Poari o te takiwā e whakatau kia whakaotia rānei ngā tuku e tārewa ana i te wā i mana ai tēnei pire hei ture kāore rānei (TP 1/6/1900:9). / The wording has been finalised that all Māori land be set aside so that it can not be sold to the crown or to an individual and the Board of the district will decide whether the sales underway at the time this bill becomes legal in law will be completed or not.

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2. (noun) prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma - mana is a supernatural force in a person, place or object. Mana goes hand in hand with tapu, one affecting the other. The more prestigious the event, person or object, the more it is surrounded by tapu and mana. Mana is the enduring, indestructible power of the atua and is inherited at birth, the more senior the descent, the greater the mana. The authority of mana and tapu is inherited and delegated through the senior line from the atua as their human agent to act on revealed will. Since authority is a spiritual gift delegated by the atua, man remains the agent, never the source of mana. This divine choice is confirmed by the elders, initiated by the tohunga under traditional consecratory rites (tohi). Mana gives a person the authority to lead, organise and regulate communal expeditions and activities, to make decisions regarding social and political matters. A person or tribe's mana can increase from successful ventures or decrease through the lack of success. The tribe give mana to their chief and empower him/her and in turn the mana of an ariki or rangatira spreads to his/her people and their land, water and resources. Almost every activity has a link with the maintenance and enhancement of mana and tapu. Animate and inanimate objects can also have mana as they also derive from the atua and because of their own association with people imbued with mana or because they are used in significant events. There is also an element of stewardship, or kaitiakitanga, associated with the term when it is used in relation to resources, including land and water.

(Te Kōhure Textbook (Ed. 2): 238-240; Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 6;)

I tērā tau i mātakitaki tātau ki te ānga haeretanga a Tiamani i a Rūhia, me te mea nā anō kua pēpē te mana o Rūhia (TKO 15/8/1916:8). / Last year we watched Germany drive away Russia and it would seem the mana of Russia has been crushed.

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See also mana moana, mana atua, mana motuhake, mana whakaheke, mana tangata, mana whakatipu, mana taurite, mana whenua, Mana Motuhake, mana tūpuna, mana whakaaio, mana whakahaere, mana tangata whenua, tuku mana whakahaere


3. (noun) jurisdiction, mandate, freedom.

Kua oti i a Waata Wiremu Hīpango i raro i te mana o te Komiti Nui o Whanganui ēnei tikanga e mau ake i raro iho nei (TJ 6/10/1898:14). / Under the jurisdiction of the main committee of Whanganui, Walter William Hīpango has completed the following procedures.

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punahiko

1. (noun) power supply, power station.

taura hiko

1. (noun) electrical cord, power cord, power line, charger cord.

Ka noho pōwhiwhiwhiwhi katoa ngā taura hiko i muri i te pouaka whakaata (PK 2008:686). / The electric cords behind the television were all tangled up.

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taniwha

1. (noun) water spirit, monster, dangerous water creature, powerful creature, chief, powerful leader, something or someone awesome - taniwha take many forms from logs to reptiles and whales and often live in lakes, rivers or the sea. They are often regarded as guardians by the people who live in their territory, but may also have a malign influence on human beings.

Heoi, ka noho nei te taniwha, ko tana mahi, he patu i ngā tira haere; arā, he kai i ngā tāngata, horopuku tonu, ahakoa he kawenga tā te tangata, ka horomia pukutia e taua taniwha - ahakoa he tamaiti i runga i te hākui e waha ana, ka heke tahi rāua ki roto i te kōpū o te taniwha nei - ahakoa ngā tokotoko me ngā taiaha, ka pau katoa te horo (JPS 1905:200). / And so the taniwha remained there. His occupation was killing the travelling parties - that is, he used to swallow them whole, even if they had loads on their backs they were swallowed up by that taniwha - mothers carrying children on their backs, they went down together into the belly of this taniwha - even walking sticks and taiaha, they were completely swallowed up.
Ko Ureia e kōrerotia nei, ehara i te taniwha patu tangata, rumaki tangata rānei. Engari e karangatia ana a Ureia he tupua, he mauri nō ngā tāngata o tēnei moana o Tīkapa, arā ko Hauraki. Arā he tohu mana o ngā tāngata o tēnei moana...Otiia, e rua āhua taniwha. Tētehi āhua he kaitangata, arā he rumaki tangata ki te wai kia mate ai. Otiia, e kore aua tū taniwha e rumaki noa i te tangata. Mā te hara anō, arā mā te haere ki runga i ngā wāhi tapu, tanumanga tūpāpaku nei. Wāhi tapu rānei, whare o ngā tohunga o aua tū taniwha; wāhi tapu rānei, nohoanga o ngā taniwha. Mā te pērā anake ka horomia ai e ērā tū taniwha...Ko Ureia he ika tonu, he ika nunui atu i te parāoa (JPS 1946:30). / Ureia being discussed, was not a taniwha that killed or drowned people. But Ureia was called a tupua, a mauri of the people of this sea of Tīkapa, that is of Hauraki. In other words it was a symbol of the mana of the people of this sea...But there are two forms of taniwha. One kind is a man-eater, that is it drowns people in water to kill them, but, those taniwha do not drown people without reason, but do so because of an offence, such as going on to prohibited places such as are the burial places of the dead; or the sacred places such as are the houses of the tohunga of those taniwha; or the sacred places which are the places where the taniwha live. It is only for such things would they be swallowed up by those taniwha...Ureia was actually a marine animal, one larger than a sperm whale.

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mana whenua

1. (noun) territorial rights, power from the land, authority over land or territory, jurisdiction over land or territory - power associated with possession and occupation of tribal land. The tribe's history and legends are based in the lands they have occupied over generations and the land provides the sustenance for the people and to provide hospitality for guests.

(Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 6;)

Ko au nei te mōrehu kaumātua o roto o taua hapū e ora nei, nō Ngāti Hikawera hoki te mana whenua e mau nei ki a mātau i roto i ēnei rā (TPH 6/8/1904:4). / I am the surviving elder of that subtribe and Ngāti Hikawera also has authority over the land which we hold today.

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See also mana

ihi

1. (noun) essential force, excitement, thrill, power, charm, personal magnetism - psychic force as opposed to spiritual power (mana).

E ai ki te mahara ake o tētehi o te minenga ki a Mere e wani mai ana i te whatārangi kia tū ai ki te aroaro-ā-kapa, ki reira haka tahi atu ai me rātau me te puta o te ihi, o te wana (TTR 1998:1) / One member of the audience remembered Mere gliding across the stage to stand in the front row of the haka group to join them in the haka with great excitement and gusto.

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2. (noun) ray (of the sun), beam of light.

Ka whakatakotoria ki te rua o te rā te māhanga. I raro anō te rā, ko te huruhuru ka puta. I raro anō te rā, ko te ihi i puta ake. Ka puta ake te upoko, ka puta ake te kakī. Ka karangatia e Māui, kia kumea te māhanga (Tr 1874:40). / The noose was set at the pit of the sun. The sun was still down when the diffused glow appeared and it was still down when the beam of light appeared. The head appeared and then the neck. Then Māui called out to pull the noose.

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kani mīhini

1. (loan) (noun) power saw, chainsaw.

mana atua

1. (noun) sacred spiritual power from the atua.

mana tangata

1. (noun) power and status accrued through one's leadership talents, human rights, mana of people.

Ka hoki whakamuri te mahara ki ngā rā e houkura ana te mana tangata (TTT 1/12/1929:1935). / The memory goes back to the days when people's mana was intact.
I haere ā tātou tamariki ki te pakanga kia mau ai te mana tangata me te mana whenua kei riro i te raupatu a te Tiamana (TTT 1/6/1924:60). / Our children went to the war in order to maintain the people's mana and authority over the land lest it be taken away by German conquest.

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See also mana

mana whakatipu

1. (noun) aquired leadership - power and status accrued through one's leadership talents, mana resulting from strength of character and force of will, and the means a leader has to enforce those wishes. Also known as mana tangata.

(Te Kōhure Video Tapes (Ed. 1): 6;)

See also mana, mana tangata

mākutu

1. (verb) (-ria,-tia) to inflict physical and psychological harm and even death through spiritual powers, bewitch, cast spells.

E 200 pea ngā tāngata Māori e noho ana i reira i kī, he mea mākutu e tētahi tangata e karangatia ana ko Tango (KO 22/2/1887:6). / Approximately 200 Māori living there claimed that he was bewitched by somebody called Tango.

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2. (modifier) bewitching, magical, supernatural.

I herea e rātou a Tango mō ngā rā e rua kāhore he kai, kāhore he wai-inu i hoatu e rātou ki a ia, i whakapaea anō e rātou nā Tango i paihana a Toko ki tōna mahi mākutu (KO 22/2/1887:6). / They tied up Tango for two days without food and drinking water, and they accused Tango of poisoning Toko with his sorcery.

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3. (noun) witchcraft, magic, sorcery, spell.

Ka mahi anō te kātipa kia wetekina a Tango nō te mea ko tēnā mea ko te mākutu kāhore he hara e mōhiotia ai e te ture, otirā nōhea e rongo ngā Māori (KO 22/2/1887:6). / The officer attempted to free Tango because mākutu is not an offence recognised by the law, but there is no way that the Māori would listen.

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mana tūpuna

1. (noun) power through descent.

Mangu Kaha

1. (noun) Black Power - a gang name.

mārōrō

1. (modifier) strong, muscular, powerful, somewhat hard, stiff, solid, strongish.

(Te Pihinga Study Guide (Ed. 1): 31;)

Te naomanga atu o te tama mātāmua ki te paihere rākau, whakauaua noa, ko tōna tangata mārōrō taua korokē, whakauaua noa, tē whati (TMT 15/4/1861:14). / The eldest son grabbed the bundle of sticks and tried strenuously again and again - that fellow was very strong - but be could not succeed in breaking them.

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maru

1. (stative) be covered, shaded, sheltered, thickly populated.

Nā Te Rauparaha te iwi i ārahi kia heke ki te tonga, ki tētahi wāhi e maru ai, e ora ai, e tipu ai rātou (Te Ara 2011). / Te Rauparaha led the tribe on the migration to the south to a place that was safer and where they could survive and prosper.

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2. (noun) shadow, shelter, shade, power, authority, shield, safeguard.

Kāhore kau ia i whakapae mahi kino, kāhore hoki ia i waiho noa i te hunga i raro i tōna maru (TTR 1990:327). / He was never accused of evil deeds, nor did he abandon the people under his protection.

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punahiko waro koranehe

1. (noun) coal-fired power station.

āhei

1. (verb) (-a,-tia) to be able, possible, within one's power, enable.

E kore au e āhei te kī atu. / I will not be able to say.

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Synonyms: taea, kaha, tare


2. (stative) be allowed, permitted.

Ka āhei i a ia te mahi rā - engari e kore e pahure i a au! (PK 2008:3) / She is allowed to do that - but I'm not permitted to!

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3. (noun) ability, opportunity, access.

Hei tāna, mā tēnei e ōrite ai te āhei atu o te Māori ki ngā mahi kei ngā tari kāwanatanga (TTR 1994:36). / He argued that the Māori should be given equal opportunity of employment in government departments.

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Synonyms: kaha, āheitanga, āheinga, tomonga, whakatapoko

aweawe

1. (verb) be at a distance, out of reach.

Ka torona te teka mā runga i te awa o te tuarā o te whaea. Kātahi ka tukua kia rere a Tiritiri-o-Matangi, ā, ka rere i konei, aweawe ana te rere i te takiwā, tau rawa atu i Tīrau (JPS 1925:315). / The dart was launched via the depression in his mother's back. When Tiritiri-o-Matangi was released it flew and rose from here, rising to a great distance in the air, finally landing at Tīrau.

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2. (verb) to be tall, lofty.

He rākau aweawe tonu te tōtara - tērā ka eke ki te 30 mita te roa (PK 2008:51). / The tōtara is a tall tree - it can reach 30 metres in length.

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3. (verb) (-tia) to have power, influence.

Kaha ana te aweawetia o Hēnare e ngā kaihautū Māori o te motu me ngā rangatira anō o Te Tai Tokerau (TTR 2000:68). / Hēnare was strongly influenced by national Māori leaders and the chiefs of Northland.

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4. (modifier) influential.

Ko tōna matua ko Rē Te Tai, tētahi o ngā rangatira aweawe o Te Rarawa i te rohe o Te Hokianga i te tekau tau atu i 1890, i te wā o muri mai hoki (TTR 1994:53). / Her father, Rē Te Tai, was one of the influential chiefs of Te Rarawa in the Hokianga district in the 1890s and later.

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5. (noun) influence.

I taka anō hoki a ia ki raro i te aweawe o ngā mihingare rā (TTR 2000:53). / He also came under the influence of those missionaries.

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6. (noun) reach.

Kai tua atu te toa i te aweawe o te tautauā (Ng 1993:376). / Bravery is beyond the reach of a coward.

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hiko

1. (verb) (-ia) to flash (of lightning, etc.).

Tērā te uira e hiko i te rangi (M 2004:14). / There the lightening will flash in the sky.

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2. (verb) to stimulate.

Kei te hiko atu ōku whakaaro kia whānui, kia hōhonu, kia tino kaha rawa ngā mimire o te taura e paihere nei i a tātau (TKO 30/4/1920:7). / My thoughts are stimulated into ways to broaden, deepen and strengthen the strands of the rope that unites us all.

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3. (verb) (-ia) to snatch, grab, grasp.

Ka hiko ia ki te toki (Tr 1874:48). / He grabbed the adze.

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4. (modifier) electrical, power, electronic, electric.

The government still owns some commercial enterprises, such as the power companies and the post offices. / E pupuri tonu ana te kāwanatanga i ētahi hinonga arumoni, pērā i ngā kamupene hiko me ngā poutāpeta (Te Ara 2015).

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5. (noun) lightning.

Mō te hiko i kōwhā mai i te wāhi kotahi, ka tuaruatia mai i taua wāhi anō he tohu mate (M2004:234). / For the lightning which flashes over the same place twice, that is an omen of death.

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6. (noun) electricity, power.

He mea whakarewa te haeana ki te hiko i ēnei rā, engari, i ngā wā o mua i whakarewangia i runga i te tō. / An iron is heated with electricity these days, but in the past it was heated on the stove.

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kaha

1. (verb) to be strong, able, capable, courageous, intense, energetic.

Kia kaha te mahi! / Work energetically!
Kua tino kaha kē tana hokohoko i waenganui i ngā kaipuke o ngā Pākehā; i kaha anō tana hiahia kia noho mai ngā Pākehā ki tōna takiwā (TTR 1990:116). / He was already heavily involved in trading with the ships of the Pākehā, and had a strong desire for Pākehā to settle in his area.

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See also kia kaha, kaha ake

Synonyms: tare, taea, āhei


2. (verb) to be loud.

Kei te whakamoemiti atu te manu meroiti nei ki ētahi o ana kaitautoko e whiu mai nei i ngā hua kāramuramu hei oranga mōna kia kaha ai tana korokī i runga i tōna pae (KO 15/5/1885:4). / This small bird is thanking some of its sponsers who have tossed some karamū berries as sustenance so that its call on its perch will be loud.

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3. (adjective) be strong, able, capable, courageous, intense, energetic.

He wahine ātaahua, he kaha ki te mahi (HP 1991:24). / She was a beautiful woman, who worked hard.

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4. (modifier) sheer, utter, constant, overwhelming - used to intensify or add emphasis to the quality or action when it is placed before another base, usually a verb or adjective. Does not usually follow immediately after a verb.

(Te Māhuri Textbook (Ed. 2): 65-66;)

I te kaha mamae o tōna waewae, ka totitoti haere te kuia ki te rata. / Because her leg was so sore, the elderly lady limped off to the doctor.

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5. (noun) ability, power, strength, energy, stamina, intensity, volume (sound), magnitude.

I tino whakamihi a Te Taute ki a Ngāti Porou mō tō rātou kaha ki te whakapai i ō rātou whenua, ki te whakatupu hipi, mō te papai o ā rātou teihana hipi, o ā rātou wūruheti (TP 12/1907:11). / Mr Stout gave great praise to Ngāti Porou for their energy in improving their land, raising sheep and for the good state of their sheep stations and woolsheds.

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Synonyms: āheitanga, āhei, āheinga

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