H

hoa
  1. master, owner; tagata hoa papaku, owner or relative of a dead; hoa manu, "bird master," that is, he who received the first egg at the annual festivals in Orongo; he to'o mai e te hoa manu i te mamari ki toona rima, he ma'u, he hoko, the "bird master" receives the egg in his hand and carries it, dancing.
  2. friend, companion: e ga hoa ê!
  3. to cast away, to throw away, to abandon, perhaps also to expel.
  4. to confess a sin; he hoa i te ta'u: term used of a category of rongorongo boards [see ta'u].
hoga'a
nest in which there are eggs = te hakapupa raûa ko te mamari. [Englert gives no translation, but this is literally "the nest with its eggs"]
hogi
  1. to smell something; he hogi te eo o te umu, to smell food cooking
  2. to kiss; he hogi te matu'a poreko i taana poki, the mother kisses her little boy.
hohoni
to peel: he hohoni i te kumara, to peel sweet potatoes.
hohora
to spread a nua cover on the ground, or a mat of gaatu (totora reeds).
hoke
  1. the outmost parts of rectangular fishing-net, hoke kupega, which are: matu'a and matagi.
  2. the first of the three forward-pointing toes of gallinaceans: hoke-pou-kau-haga.
  3. banana-leaf when it starts drying up (the fresh leaf is called rito).
hoki
to return, to go back, to come back; ka hoki ki rá go back there! ana oho koe ki Hiva, e hoki mai ki nei, if you go to the mainland, do come back here again.
hoko
  1. to jump; to rock or swing in rhythm with the chants in festivals, as was the ancient custom; an ancient dance.
  2. number prefix: "in a group of…": hokotahi, alone; hokorua, in a group of two (also companion, e hakarere te kai mo toou hokorua, leave some food for my companion); hakatoru, in a group of three, etc.; hokohía, in a group of how many? hokohía ana oho koe ki te rano? With how many people will you go to the volcano?
homo
meteorite.
hônu
  1. turtle.
  2. spider (the species found in houses).
hônui
  1. person worthy of respect, person of authority
  2. livelihood, heirloom, capital; ka moe koe ki toou hônui, you must marry to ensure your livelihood (said to a little girl); he hônui mo taaku poki, this is the heirloom for my son.
hooku
any person towards whom one feels sympathy, or for whom one feels sorry, hooku can be used in the former sense to address a parent or neighbour, but is especially used in the second sense, of an unfortunate person with whom one commiserates: "this poor fellow."
hoona
revenge, compensation; to get one's own back, to get even.
ho'ou
  1. new, fresh.
  2. newcomer, recently arrived stranger.
hope
meal offered to persons upon contracting them to carry out some work.
hopu
  1. to wash oneself, to bathe.
  2. aid, helper, in the following expressions: hopu kupega, those who help the motuha o te hopu kupega in handling the fishing nets; hopu manu, those who served the tagata manu and, upon finding the first manutara egg, took it to Orongo.
hora
ancient name of summer (toga-hora, winter summer).
hora-ura
small sea crustacean, which seems to be a small prawn or a large shrimp.
hopohopo
to feel a strong imbalance of the mind, either from boiling anger, or overbrimming joy: he hopohopo te manava.
hore, horehore
to cut with a knife or with an obsidian blade (also: horea).
horeko
solitary, lonely; kona horeko, solitary place, loneliness.
horihori
to tire, become tired (also: rohirohi).
horo
to swallow, to gulp down; horohoro, to swallow repeatedly: he horohoro te aanu, [my] mouth waters, it makes [my] mouth water.
horo'i
to rinse, to wipe dry: he horo'i te rima, to wipe one's hands dry.
horou
to hurry (also: horohorou).
hotake
sea mollusc, black in colour, found sticking to rocks. The small white shells (Melanella) which are usually found adhering to it are called pipi hotake.
hoto
shoulder-blade, back of shoulder; generally used for "shoulder" instead of kapuhivi.
hou
to cut a small hole with a toki, like the holes in the paega stones into which fitted the frame of the hare paega houses; to bore, to pierce, to perforate: hou oone, "dirt-borers," i.e. rats.
hove
  1. widow, widower.
  2. exclamation expressing surprise at the unexpected, upon finding that what you had imagined was wrong; for instance, upon seeing ashore someone you thought had gone fishing in the ocean you could say: hove i oho ai koe i ruga i te vaka ki te îka hî, oh, I thought you had gone on your canoe to go fishing!