U

u
to make a loud, thundering noise, like surf breaking: he-u te vave.
û
milk; also used for woman's breast instead of hatunono.
ua
  1. cause, reason why something happens or is done; he ûa te ua, au i-ta'e-iri-ai ki tooku hare, because of the rain, I did not go home; ua kore, without cause, without reason.
  2. ceremononial stave with a human face carved at one extremity (see Thomson, Plate 52 [opens new window]).
ûa
rain;
  1. ûa hakamito, persistente, but not strong, rain;
  2. ûa kura, fine rain, drizzle;
  3. ûa matavaravara, strong rain;
  4. ûa parera, torrential rain;
  5. ûa tai, rain followed by fair weather at sea.
u'a
of the tide, to reach its maximum; tai u'a, high tide.
uáuá
to reside; resident; noho uáuá to settle somewhere; ina koe ekó noho uáuá, do not establish yourself there.
ûaûa
tendons, muscles;
  1. hau ûaûa kio'e, line made from rats' tendons.
  2. ûaûa toto, vein, artery.
  3. ûaûa piki, spasm.
uéué
to move about, to flutter; he-uéué te kahu i te tokerau, the clothes flutter in the wind; poki oho ta'e uéué, obedient child.
uga
to lead, to take (someone); e uga koe i tooku repahoa ki Hotu iti, take me to my friend in Hotu iti (also used instead of hakaúga).
uha
hen; female (familiar): taaku uha = taaku vî'e, my wife, or my daughter (i.e. taaku poki).
uhi
yam (Dioscorea alata); a large tuber, one of the main staple foods in ancient times, of which some 40 varieties were grown.
uhi-uhi
to sew (also: tía); ka-uhiuhi toou nua, sew yourself a cape.
uho eve
part of the body between coccyx and anus.
ui
to ask.
û 'i
to look, to look at (ki); e-û'i koe! look out!
û'iga
seeing, action of seeing. There is an old saying: i ruga i te ahu te û'iga, the seeing is on the ahu (i.e. time will tell).
uira
flash of lightning.
ûka
young woman; ûka hoa, girlfriend.
ukiuki
to work assiduously at learning or ascertaining something. Matu'a rava ukiuki ki te vânaga tuai, the Padre works hard at learning the ancient language.
uku
word used in spell-casting: e manu koe, uku, you will turn into a bird.
ukukoko
a plant.
ûma
breast, chest, bosom; ûma kupega, central part of a fishing net.
umaga
team, crew, called to do a work.
umiki
rebellious, riotous; riot, tumult, turmoil, disturbance.
umu
cooking pit, a.k.a. Polynesian oven (shallow pit dug in the ground, in which food is cooked over heated stones); the food cooked in such a pit for a meal, dinner, or banquet.
  1. umu pae, permanent cooking pit, in a stone enclosure;
  2. umu paepae, permanent cooking pit with straw cover for protection from rain and wind;
  3. umu keri okaoka, temporary cooking pit without stone enclosure;
  4. umu ava, very large temporary cooking pit, made for feasts;
  5. umu takapú, exclusive banquet, reserved for certain groups of persons, for instance, the relatives of a deceased family member;
  6. umu tahu, daily meals for hired workers;
  7. umu parehaoga, inaugural banquet (made on occasion of a communal enterprise or feastival).
  8. umu ra'e, banquet for fifth or sixth month of pregnancy.
  9. umu pâpaku, banquet on occasion the death of a family member.
unahi
fish-scale.
unu
  1. to drink; unuga, the act of drinking.
  2. to pull weeds, grasses.
  3. to pluck; ka-unu te huruhuru o te moa! pluck the chicken's feathers!
únu-únu
to bask in the sun (ki te raá), to warm oneself by the fire (ki te ahi ).
Upa
name of an ancient character famous for his boasting, swaggering, obnoxious manners.
upa-ea
craving: ka-avai-mai taa îka e-tahi o te upa-ea, give me one of these fish, I so crave for one (seemingly only used in the form o upa-ea [Translator's note: perhaps literally "lest Upa rises, lest I become like Upa"]).
ura
lobster.
ûra
flame, blaze (ûra ahi), to become furious (with manava as subject: ku-ûra-á te manava).
úraúra
bright red.
ure
  1. generation; ure matá, warlike, bellicose generation (matá, obsidian, used in making weapons).
  2. offspring; brother; colleague i toou ure ka tata-mai, your colleague has turned up.
  3. friendship, friendly relationship; ku-ké-á te ure, they have become enemies (lit.: friendship has changed).
  4. penis (this definition is found in Englert's 1938 dictionary, but not in La Tierra de Hotu Matu'a).
ure tahiri
to gush, to spurt, to flow; e-ure tahiri-á te toto, blood is flowing in gushes.
ure tiatia moana
whirlwind which descend quickly and violently onto the ocean; whirlpool, eddy.
úreúre
a fish.
uri
  1. dark; black-and-blue.
  2. green; ki oti te toga. he-uri te maúku o te kaiga, te kumara, te taro, te tahi hoki me'e, once winter is over, the grasses grow green, and the sweet potatoes, and the taro, and the other plants.
uriuri
black; very dark.
uru
  1. to lavish food on those who have contributed to to the funerary banquet (umu pâpaku) for a family member (said of the host, hoa pâpaku).
  2. to remove the stones which have been heated in the umu, put meat, sweet potatoes, etc., on top of the embers, and cover it with those same stones while red-hot.
  3. the wooden tongs used for handling the red-hot stones of the umu.
  4. to enter into (kiroto ki or just ki), e.g. he-uru kiroto ki te hare, he-uru ki te hare.
  5. to get dressed: kahu uru.
uruga
prophetic vision. It is said that, not long before the first missionaries' coming a certain Rega Varevare a Te Niu saw their arrival in a vision and travelled all over the island to tell it: He-oho-mai ko Rega Varevare a Te Niu mai Poike, he mimiro i te po ka-variró te kaiga he-kî i taana uruga, he ragi: "E-tomo te haûti i Tarakiu, e-tomo te poepoe hiku regorego, e-tomo te îka ariga koreva, e-tomo te poporo haha, e-kiu te Atua i te ragi". I te otea o te rua raá he-tu'u-hakaou ki Poike; i te ahi mo-kirokiro he-mate. Rega Varevare, son of Te Niu, came from Poike, and toured the island proclaiming his vision: "A wooden house will arrive at Tarakiu (near Vaihú). a barge will arrive, animals will arrive with the faces of eels (i.e. horses), golden thistles will come, and the Lord will be heard in heaven". The next morning he arrived back in Poike, and in the evening when it was getting dark, he died.
Uru manu
those who do not belong to the Miru tribe and who, for that reason, are held in lesser esteem.
úru-úru
to catch small fish to use as bait.
uru-uru-hoa
intruder, freeloader (person who enters someone else's house and eats food reserved for another).
uta
higher up (from the coast, or from another place); i uta era, further up, up there.
uto
buoy, net-float.
utu ahu
heart of the hauhau tree (Triumfetta semitriloba).
útu-útu
to draw water repeatedly (see uútu).
ú-ú
  1. to make a sound through one's closed mouth (like someone in his sleep, or someone in pain).
  2. to call eels forth by making such sounds. Ana ta'e oga-mai te koreha, he-ú-ú hai re'o mo garo'a e te koreha; koro garo'a te û-ú, he-oga-mai mai roto mai te toka, when the eels do not show up (near the baited trap), you make ú-ú sounds for them to hear; when their hear it they come investigating from inside the toka (smooth rocks on the coast).
uuna
abundance, plenty of; uuna-á te îka, there are lots of fish; uuna-á te kai, te maîka, the fruit of the land and the bananas grow in abundance.
uutu
to draw (water, or any liquid); kaha uutu, vai, water gourd.