tai pâpaku

ocean, sea (often used without an article); he-turu au ki tai hopu, I am going down to the sea to bathe.

to be calm, good for fishing: he tai. There exists a surprisingly developed terminology for distinguishing the phases of the tides:

tai pâpaku, low tide;

ku-gúgú-á te tai, tide at his lowest, literally "the sea has dried up";

he-ranu te tai, when the water starts rising again; this is a strange expression, since ranu means "amniotic liquid," the breaking of the waters which precedes birth; in this phase of the tides the fish start coming out of their hiding places and swim to the coast in search of food;

tai hahati, rising tide

tai hini hahati, tide as it continues rising.

tai u'a, tai u'a parera, when the tide has reached its high.

tai hini u'a, tide all throughout its full phase.

tai hori, tide as it starts receding.

tai ma'u, tide during its decreasing phase, right until it becomes tai pâpaku again.

tai raurau a riki. the slight swell, or effervescence of the sea at a change or the moon.

good spot for raising chickens; the stone chicken coops called hare moa, were built in places "tai moa". Ahé te tai o taau moa? whereabouts are the raising grounds of your chickens?

song in general; song executed by a group of singers; ku-garo-ana i a au te kupu o te tai, I have forgotten the words of the song.

corpse.

emaciated, very thin.

tai pápaku, lowest tide.