~e (i·)e verb, transitive
Lvn~e
Tnm~ei
Food
1eat ‹s.th.›
U-e!Eat it!
Kata ka ai-e?Have you ever eaten this?
P-ae jebute, me pe-tau me p-e!Dig out some taros you can cook and eat!
see~vongoeat (intr.)
pe li-e phrase
that one eatsedible
vilo pe li-e[a plant that one eats] an edible plant
Kata ka ni-ovei na pe vilo pon, pe li-e.I just discovered that this plant is edible.
2Ogre, cannibaleat ‹s.o.›
Pon tepakola? Kape i-e idi? O kape i-abu idi?Is it an Ogre? Does he eat people? Does he kill people?
Dapa tadoe va li-somol' idi, ka li-e idi.Spirits are dangerous, they are cannibals.
ebele eᵐbele
Lvnnebele
Tnmnibela(ko)
Anoun, relational
body
1man, animalbody
Ebele ene pana.[my body is hot] I feel hot.
Leka, kape u-labu ebele ini metae.With your (opp.-sex) cross-cousin, you are not allowed any body contact.
Nga mwaliko i-bu, le-iu ebele ini i-wene ne kie ini.When somebody dies, their body is buried in a grave.
Li-romo po dapa ebele dapa tae.[We can't see their bodies] These creatures are invisible.
Buro pe li-pongo ebele idi ñei.It's a song meant to wake up the dancers' bodies.
2s.th.major constituting element; structure, core
ebele kuo noun
body of canoecanoe hull
see lexical list atkuo
ebele moe noun
body of househouse structure, house frame
see lexical list atmoe
3rare+ noun Nend of ‹s.th.›
ebele ngapiene the end of the festival
Sem.The semantic path (from ‘body’ to ‘end’) is unclear.
4freq+ noun Nreal, genuine, true, actual; authentic version of ‹s.th.›
Ebele kuo i-karem demene.Genuine canoes have an outrigger.
Ebele enga ini tae.There's no specific name for it.
Ini i-te Franis, ia ebele kulumoe iape Japan.She lives in France, but she is actually from [lit. her genuine country is] Japan.
5meaning
Enga ini, ebele li-ko “Mata aeve”.His name means “Eye of the Sun”.
6example
ebele nga phrase
Discourse
for example, such as; be like
Noma li-lanasu idi ne ngatene engaenga: ebele nga namolo iaidi, viabasa idi, kula none aidi, viñe buioe aidi.In the olden days, killing someone could be done using a variety of objects, such as their clothes, their hair, the food they left, the nut they chewed…
Ebele ko nga ene, ni-kila emele kulaña Tekupie ka Vonovono.predicateIt's a bit like me, I married a woman who's half from Tikopia, half from the Reefs.
seenga ebele li-kohow shall I say
Binterjection
+ nounbeautiful, wonderful. Used in exclamatory sentences
Ebele kuo me!What a beautiful boat!
derivativeebel’ iniexcellent!
intensifierme ④
ebele piene eᵐbele piene
Lvnnebelioko, nebele mwamwane
Tnmnib(i)lako puiene
Anoun
1always predicatereal speechtrue words, the truth
Ene ni-lengi ñe taña ene, ka ebele piene, ene ni-le ene.I heard it with my own ears. It's the truth, I believe it.
see~takospeak the truth
2foll. by NPtrue, real, genuine; specific
Ebele piene uo tae.This is not real yam.
Ebele piene sekele peini jebute upa i-wene ne tevie.We have a genuine water-taro garden on the other side.
Binterjection
really! An expression of surprise
Ebele piene?Really?!
O, ebele piene, mwalik' iote i-bu!Oh, really! Someone just died!
ebel’ ini eᵐbelini ebele ini
Lvnnebele ngani
Tnmnibela nini
Anoun
1literalhis/her/its body; its hull, etc.
main entryebele
2the true version of it; the real one
Dapa wopine iupa na li-ovei ebel’ ini.Our elders are the ones who’d know the proper (word).
seeebele pienetruth
Binterjection
its bodywonderful! great! fabulous!
Moe iono ebel' ini.Your house is beautiful.
Emele iape, ebel’ ini!His wife is gorgeous!
Ebel’ ini me!That's really wonderful!
intensifierme ④
synonymwako ⓒ
ebieve1 eᵐbieve noun
Flora
Indian coral treeErythrina variegata.
Erythrinas and calendarsebieve
Noma, ebieve nga calendar adapa. Pe ka mana dapa ka li-ovei li-ko ka li-ka ne to ebieve.
’In the olden days, Erythrina flowers would serve as a kind of a calendar. When people would see its flowers had come out, they knew they were in the middle of the year.’
ebieve2 eᵐbieve noun
Lvnverue
Tnmrove
yearly season, year
ne to ebievein the middle of the year
ebieve 2005in 2005
ebieve abiaevery year
ebieve iote k' awoiu ponulast year
Ebieve iono ka tivi?[how many are your years?] How old are you?
Ai' one ka i-bu, ebieve tua ka i-da.My father died eight years ago.
Etym.This noun is metonymically named after the yearly flowering of the Erythrina flower (ebieve ①).
ebo eᵐbo noun
Fish
1Spotted UnicornfishNaso brevirostris.
Fish
2Bluespine UnicornfishNaso unicornis.
ebuloko eᵐbuloko ebloko adjective
ready
~ejau ebuloko construction
~ejau ‘make’ + ebuloko ‘ready’
causativemake readymake ‹s.th.› ready, prepare
Kape kia lai-ajau ebuloko ngapwae?kavaHow shall we prepare it?
ei ei interjection
1hey! when calling someone
Ei, da-tilu!Hey, you two!
2hey! wow! Interjection coding for surprise
Ei! Na toñaki pine!Wow! What a huge ship!
Ei! Kaiawo pon!Hey! There's smoke over there!
synonymoi
~ejau (i·)eᶮɟau
Lvn~lapie
Tnm~adao, ~adau
Averb, transitive
1abstrdo ‹s.th., ngatene›, act in a certain way
Nganae le-ko l-ajau, i-wene moli teve dapa.Whatever they wanted to do, was easy to them.
see~kaedo how
see~mikaedo what
2concrmake, create, prepare ‹s.th.›
Li-wete otovo awoiu pon li-ejau telemoe.Once the thatch is finished, we make the house walls.
Pi-ka pi-abui ngatene upa pi-ko me p-ajau toñaki iote.We took our tools down (from the ship) so as to build another boat.
Ni-ko me n-ajau kopi abia.I want to print [to make] many copies.
synonym~apilo
Food
3espprepare ‹food›, cook ‹s.th.›
Li-ejau aña none mijaka.We cook a little (bit of) food.
I-wete jebute awoiu ka i-ejau mama ada.Once she finished pounding the taro, she made the pudding.
U-bi bale u-toe u-ajau tepwoe.You pick some breadfruit, cut it, and make dried-breadfruit with it.
see~ejau ngatenemake things: cook
synonym~apinu
~ejau none verb-object idiom
make foodprepare a meal, organise a feast; hence have a celebration
Li-ejau none pine adapa ne kulumoe.They are preparing a huge meal for the villagers.
Dapa teliki li-ajau none.The chiefs were having a celebration.
4provide ‹medicine›, prepare (for s.o., ñe)
Kasule, li-ovei pe l-ejau ñe idi pe li-tavie.medicine leavesSome vines are useful [lit. You can ‘make’ them] for sick people.
5raremake up ‹story, piene›, fabricate
L-ajau piene pe li-tomoli ñe tanoe.They made up a story to deceive people about land ownership.
6foll. by clausemake ‹s.th. happen›, make ‹s.o. do s.th.›: Causative
I-ejau ini i-lebie, i-lebie men’ iape.She made him bathe, she bathed her baby.
Ata tadoe kap' i-ejau bas' eo mumule.The spirits of Ghosts can make your head go crazy.
Dapa tadoe li-ejau idi li-madau, tamwase ne bwogo.Ghosts scare people [lit. they make people afraid], particularly at night.
Tadoe i-ka i-koie i-mako samame dapa me li-ejau makone korone.The spirits came in and began dancing with the men – which made the dances powerful.
Bsecond verb, intransitive
Tnm~adau
Grammar
12nd verb in a serial construction(do X) well, properly, correctly
Ka ni-lengi ni-ejau tae.storyI didn't hear it properly.
Li-ovei li-ejau anoko iadapa.They recognised [lit. knew well] their itinerary.
2carefully, with care
Ka ba-rom bai-ejau ?Did you look carefully?
U-lengi u-ejau me u-ovei.Listen carefully, so you learn.
Pe-labu pi-ejau, pe-somoli etapu!Handle it carefully, don't damage it!
U-botongo eo u-ejau!Take good care of yourself!
3sometintensifier: really, strongly
Idi li-mako li-ka li-koie ne mane, ponu li-la li-mini li-ejau!As the dancers came into the village area, they were dancing like crazy! [they were really intense]
synonymtamwase
~ejau ngatene (i·)eᶮɟau ŋatene verb-object idiom
Lvn~lapie vesemele
Tnm~adau vamora
1literallymake thingsdo something, act
Ka po li-ejau ngatene pon awoiu.So that’s what they did.
Dapa li-ejau ngatene susuko tae.They didn't do (the ritual) correctly.
see~la ngatenework
2espbe cooking; prepare a meal
Li-te li-ejau ngatene.[They are sitting, making things] They are cooking.
synonym~apinu
~eke (i·)eke
Averb, intransitive
vulghave sex
A-ko u-eke?Do you want to have sex?
Bverb, transitive
vulghave sex with ‹s.o.›
mwaliko pe i-eke daviñevi i-lemolia man who has sex around with women
~ekeke (i·)ekeke verb, intransitive
Lvn~keke, ~memelu
laugh
Awoiu, menu ka i-re tengiro, ka i-ekeke.The child stopped crying, and laughed.
U-ekeke u-sai ene etapu!Stop making fun of me!
~eketele (i·)eketele verb, intransitive
Lvn~sipwedetu
be surprised, taken by surprise; startle
Ni-ko ni-ejau eo u-eketele.I wanted to surprise you. [lit. to make you startle]
~ekili (i·)ekili verb, intransitive
Tnm~ekili
Redup~ekilikili
1shiver, shake, tremble
Menu one i-ekili ka i-uku.My baby is shivering and coughing.
Basavono po mwaliko malaria i-vagasi, basa i-meli, ebele i-ekilikili, panavono i-ke.When you catch malaria, your head hurts, your body shivers, you feel hot…
2groundshake, have an earthquake
La-lengi tanoe pe ka i-ekili.They felt the earth shake.
seemikoearthquake
ekuo ekuo noun
various forms of wooden stick, with various usages
ekuo pe li-avo luroa stick used to husk coconuts
ekuo pe li-wete ñe tanoea digging stick [stick used to spear the ground]
ela1 ela noun, relational
Tnmlada
branch
ela viloa (tree) branch
derivativeelelabranches
ela2 ela
Lvnwila
Tnmnile
Anoun
Flora
plantnatural juice
ela peini lurococonut water
U-la manave awoiu u-vili me ela i-ke.kavaTake a fiber cloth, and squeeze (the ground kava) so the juice comes out.
Bnoun, relational
Anatomy
vulgs.o.semen, sperm
seeisepenis
elela elela noun
Redup. of ela ①
branches of a tree
~elele (i·)elele ~welele verb, transitive
pull, drag ‹s.th. heavy›, typic. using a rope
Li-elele kuo i-katau revo.They dragged the boat along the coast.
elene elene noun
clearing: area on an island deprived of high vegetation
Voko iote pon li-re ne elene Lege ponu.There was once a large stone down there, in the clearing known as Lengge.
eluro eluro noun
Birds
Barn OwlTyto alba.
emele emele
Lvnneme
Tnmmee
Anoun
woman
1anim., humfemale; girl, woman
Emele, we mwalkote?babyIs it a girl, or a boy?
emele damalaa Western woman
U-le u-wasu emele re u-min' ene!Please go and connect me with that girl!
plda viñevi
antonymmwalikote
emele aplaka emele apilaka noun
small womanyoung girl, young woman (opp. momoso, adult woman)
Ini ka emele aplaka tae, ini ka momoso iote.She's not a young girl any more, she has become a woman now.
2espec. with possessorwife
emel’ enonemy wife
mwaliko iote da emel’ iapea man and his wife
~kila emele [lit. follow a woman] get married
dapa po li-kila emelethose (men) who are married
Ni-kila emele pe Tetevo.I married a woman from Utupua.
Badjective
1attribute to another nounanimal, humfemale: used to specify the gender of an ambiguous noun
pwoi emelea sow [a female swine]
leka emelefemale cousin
menu emele ie telikithe chief’s daughter [lit. female child]
antonymmwalikote
2rareplantfemale, fertile variety of certain plants
tenubopu emele'female' pawpaw (carrying fruit)
~ememe (i·)ememe verb, intransitive
itch, be itchy
Teune va i-ememe.Scabies is itchy.
en’ en’ personal pronoun
elided form of ene ‘1sg pronoun’
enaka enaka 'naka possessive classifier
Lvnanga
Tnmae
Morphology of the Food classifierenaka
enaka (food…) for me
ono (food…) for you
ape (food…) for him/her
akia (food…) for you and me
aba (food…) for me and him/her
amela (food…) for you two
ada (food…) for them two
akapa (food…) for us (Incl.)
upa (food…) for us (Excl.)
aipa (food…) for you
adapa (food…) for them
aidi (food…) for people
we ② (food…) for X
Grammar
‘my’: 1sg form of possessive classifier for Food, Tools and Customary practices
contrasts withenoneGeneral classifier
contrasts withoneKinship classifier
1classifier for items eaten, or meant to be eaten, by the possessor; incl. items to be chewed
Ne-tau namuko enaka ne-kae?How will I be able to cook my fish?
buioe 'nakamy betelnut (to chew)
2classifier for items drunk, or meant to be drunk, by the possessor
laro 'nakamy fresh coconut (to drink)
📘 Used in free variation with me ③, a classifier specifically dedicated to drinks: ero me ene = ero 'naka ‘my (cup of) water’.
3classifier for objects related to food acquisition and preparation
okoro 'nakamy knife
kangele teuko enakamy fishing hook
4hencegeneral classifier for containers, instruments and tools
monone 'nakamy food chest
Uña ngaten' enaka i-wene tev' iu re.My stuff (bags+) is up over there.
Pi-avo ponu pi-abui ‘tool’ upa pi-ko me p-ajau toñaki na.We brought down some tools of ours, so we could start building a ship.
5classifier for certain customary practices
telepakau akapaour customs, our tradition, our culture
uro apehis magic powers
Li-puie li-kilasi tadoe adapa.They were addressing their god(s).
6espclassifier for language (piene)
piene akapa our language, Teanu
piene adapa Vonovonothe language of the Reefs, Äiwoo
7classifier for some modern items
buka onoyour book
diksoneri akapaour dictionary
8slgs.o., body parterotic delicacy; beloved, darling
Ero m' eo enaka!Your breasts, they're my delicacy!
Bele mwa eo enaka!I want your lips!
ene1 ene personal pronoun
Lvnngane
Tnmnana
Grammar
First singular personal pronoun
1topicI: stressed pronoun, co-occurring with subject prefix (ni-, ne-) on verbs
Ene ni-lengi ñe taña ene, ka ebele piene, ene ni-le ene.I heard it with my own ears. It's the truth, I believe it.
2I: subject of non-verbal predicates
Ene wako.I'm fine.
3me: object of verb or preposition
U-la u-min' ene!Give it to me!
Li-botongo ene me ne-le.They prevented me from going.
4after directly possessed nounmy
viabasa enemy hair
bete enemy bed
lusa enemy shirt
Awa ene ni-ko u-ka.[my desire says…] I want you to come.
contrasts withenone
contrasts withone
ene2 ene adverb
‘there’, ‘in it’: anaphoric locative; adverbial counterpart to preposition ne ①
Ne basavono ponu, kulumoe Tetawo idi mamote li-te ene.At that time, the village of Tetawo was still inhabited. [lit. this village, people still lived there]
Ni-le ene.fig. use of locativeI believe it. [lit. I go to it]
pe… ene construction
ene ② as resumptive pronounwhich… in itforms locative subordinate clauses: (the N) where/when P
moe pe li-apinu enea house where people cook
kulumoe iadapa pe li-te ene ponthe village where they were living
ne moro po kape le-le le-katei kuo enethe day when they were going to drag the canoe
ene3 ene adverb
Lvnida / ngate
Tnmkana / eto
demonstrative adverb, long form of clitic ne ②
contrasts withere
1here: proximal demonstrative
Ene?as a questionHere?
Sekele iaba ene vitoko ne, takoie ne.as a predicateOur garden is here, nearby this way.
Pele iono i-tatawoe ne temaka ene, ka ere.Your fishnet is damaged here, and there.
U-ka u-abu u-te ene!Come sit down here!
Dapa gete 'none na ta ene!My boys, here they are!
2this
Ene, uie ae ne? – Ponu uie otovo.This thing, what kind of leaf is it? – That's sago leaves.
3clause-initial‘here is’: proximal presentative
Ene totokale menu one.This is a photo of my son.
-ene4 -ene suffix
suffix for ordinal numerals
tili-enethe fifth one
enone enone 'none possessive classifier
Lvnianga
Tnmie
The General classifierenone
enone of me
iono of you
iape of him/her
iakia of you and me
iaba of me and him/her
iamela of you two
iada of them two
iakapa of us (Incl.)
iupa of us (Excl.)
iaipa of you
iadapa of them
iaidi of people
ie ① of (X)
Grammar
‘my’: 1sg form of possessive classifier for General, default possession
contrasts withenaka
1classifier for various possessions
mwoe 'nonemy house
kuo 'nonemy canoe
topola 'nonemy basket
uña namolo enonemy clothes
Enone!predicateIt's mine!
2classifier for kinship relations when the noun is not inherently a kin term (opp. one, classifier for kin terms)
emele 'nonemy wife
dapa gete 'nonemy boys
dameliko 'nonemy children
dapa enone uña dapa enone noun
those of memy people, my relatives; my family
Dapa uña menuko 'none tae, ponu uña dapa 'none!They aren't just my friends, they're my family.
📘 Synonymous phrases use prepositions ne or peini : dapa ne ene, dapa peini ene.
synonymapalimatarelative
3classifier for some more abstract relations
piene 'nonemy words
enga eŋa noun, relational
Lvnnenge
Tnmninge
1s.t., s.o.name
Enga ini Lupo.His name is/was Lupo.
Basa iupa re po i-wen’ iu re, enga ini Popokia.That mountain of ours up over there is called Popokia.
Vilo peini revo ponu, enga ini tongobe.That seashore tree is called mangrove.
Ni-mui enga temaka na.I don't know the name of that place.
Uk' one tilu, kape ne-vete enga da metae.My in-laws, I can't say their names out loud.
2type, sort
Udo ponu, enga ini tilu.There are two sorts of bananas.
Kava pon, noma, enga tete ne basa kulumoe na; enga tilu iote ka i-bu.Our island used to have three types of kava; two of those types have disappeared.
Banie i-waivo ñe idi ñe makone: makone iote, makone iote, makone iote... Enga makone tilu-tae.deityBanie instructed humans with dances: one dance, another one, another one again… Altogether, eight different types of dance.
engaenga eŋaeŋa adjective
Lvnnengenenge
Redup. enga▻② ‘sort’
plural Nvarious, diverse
Li-teli avtebe, li-vo udo, uña ngatene engaenga.They planted taros, bananas, various things.
Noma li-lanasu idi ne ngatene engaenga: ebele nga namolo iaidi, viabasa idi, kula none aidi, viñe buioe aidi.In the olden days, killing someone could be done using a variety of objects, such as their clothes, their hair, the food they left, the nut they chewed…
synonymengakulavarious
see singularengaiotedifferent
engaiote eŋajote adjective
Lvnnengeleka
Tnmningekeo
enga▻② ‘sort’ + iote ‘other’
plengaenga
1different
Ne temaka kula nga ponu; na, engaiote.It's the case in some places; but here, it's different.
Awa ini engaiote.[her neck/mind is different] She doesn't have the same point of view.
2sometstrange, surprising
A-rom, na vilo engaiote! Vilo pon i-vio teve kiapa tae.Look at this strange plant! We don't have it in our island.
see~bisisurprised
engakula eŋakula adjective
enga ‘name, type’ + kula ① ⓑ ‘various’
many sortsof various types, diverse
Pe kupa ponu makone engakula ia na iote ni-romo ka wako tamwalikose!In our place, we do have a few dances already, but this one I saw here was absolutely fabulous!
📘 Along with its synonym engaenga, engakula serves as the plural form of engaiote ‘different’ (cf. iote ‘a(n); another’ vs. kula ‘several’).
synonymengaengavarious
engasune eŋasune adjective
identical
main entryngasune
~engi (i·)eŋi verb, transitive
kiss ‹s.o.›
Emele pon i-engi menuko.It's a woman kissing a bird.
Ni-ko ni-engi eo.I want to kiss you.
Abu u-engi menu one.Come give a kiss to my baby.
eo eo personal pronoun
Lvnago / -ngo
Tnmgo
Grammar
2sg personal pronoun
1topicyou: stressed pronoun, co-occurring with subject prefix (a-, u-) on verbs
Ia eo, eo a-ka vele?And you, where are you coming from?
Eo u-te. U-ka u-te u-romo.You, sit down. Come have a look.
2you: subject of non-verbal predicates
Eo wako?Are you alright?
3you: object of verb or preposition
Ne-viñ’ eo?Shall I tell you?
U-botongo eo u-ejau!reflexive constructionTake good care of yourself!
Ni-ovei ni-ko ngatene abia teve eo.preposition teveI know you have a lot of work. [lit. many things are with you]
4after directly poss. nounyour
enga eoyour name
bete eoyour bed
lusa eoyour shirt
awa eoyour desire
Awa eo i-viane?Do you want it?
U-re mevia eo.Have some rest [lit. release your breath].
seeiono
seeono
~epe (i·)epe verb, intransitive
Lvn~epwa
Tnm~epo
defecate
synonym~le ne revogo to the sea
seeatonetoilet
~epele (i·)epele verb, intransitive
s.o.smart, intelligent
Basa eo i-epele.[your head is smart] You're smart.
I-epele tamwase.He's very clever.
antonymtangavisiunskilled
antonymmumulestupid+
epu epu noun
Lvnepu
Tnmepu
1sepu 'none2sepu iono3sepu iape
Kin
1grandmother; any woman from the grandparent generation (FM, MM, MMZ…)
epu iapehis/her grandmother
Epu 'none na ta!That's my grandmother.
📘 Originally an address term. Takes the general possessor (enone) rather than the kin possessor (one).
seepiegrandfather; grandson
2granddaughter; any female from the grandchild generation (SD, DD+)
contrasts withpiegrandson
ere ere adverb
Distal locative adverb: over there
Pele iono i-tatawoe ne temaka ene, ka ere.Your fishnet is damaged here, and there.
Dapa kula li-koie ere, se vono Lege re.Some men went ashore over there, in the area of Lengge there.
Li-le li-vagas’ ere, tetake n’ adie ngamuli.They went all the way to that point over there – out there towards the ocean.
Synt.Demonstrative adverb, corresponding to clitic re.
contrasts withene ③
ero1 ero noun
Lvnwire
Tnmnira
POc*waiR
1water, esp. fresh water
jokoro peini erobamboo for freshwater
ero medigocold water
Pi-teli awoiu, pi-loko ero mina.Once we've planted it, we add water to it.
ero pana noun
Modernity
hot waterhot beverage: tea, coffee
Li-anu ero pana ka li-kanu.We drink tea, and chew betelnut.
Bodies of fresh waterEro me iaero
ero fresh water; creek, stream, river
iaero river
al’ ero river mouth
waluko ero ; pwama iaero river bank
mata ero water spring, river source
toloto lagoon, lake
~pu ‹river› run, flow
~lebie ‹s.o.› bathe
Geo
2a flowing body of water: stream, river, creek
Le-lebie ne ero.Let's bathe in the river.
I-le i-kotu i-katau ero iote.He was running alongside a stream.
Ero i-pu i-abu i-vagasi revo.The river flows down to the sea.
Ero ponu, enga ini ‘Ero Meie’.That river was called ‘River Meie’.
synonymiaeroriver
waluko ero noun
waluko ‘side’ + ero ①▻② ‘river’
river sideriver bank
Li-le li-te teta-vene pon, ne waluko ero.They went to stay uphill over there, along the river.
3henceliquid
ero korone [powerful liquid] alcohol
ero2 ero noun
Lvnure, uru
Tnmnora
1milk
I-katei ero ne et' iape.He's sucking on the milk of his mother.
ero me bulukacow's milk
Etym.The forms in Lovono and Tanema show that the similarity of ero ‘milk’ and ero ‘water’ in Teanu is coincidental.
poss. classifierne ① ⓑ▻①
poss. classifierme ③
Fauna
2mammaltits
poss. classifierme ③
Anatomy
3humanbreast
Besungale ini emele ero me ini biouro.mythologyBesungale is a woman with long breasts.
Ini mamote emele mwatebe; ero ka i-vio.breast shape as a sign of age in womenShe was still a virgin, but her breasts were already sticking out.
Ero me ini! Ero wako!jocHer breasts! Such beautiful breasts!
synonymwaero
poss. classifierme ③
ero3 predicative
Cf. (?) ero ① ‘water, stream’
hairbe long and falling
Viabasa dapa Tekupie ero.Tikopians have long hair.
Etym.This term, always used as a predicate, may involve a comparison of long hair with a flowing stream.
antonymomefrizzy hair
see lexical list atviabasahair
etapu etapu 'tapu
Lvnetapu
Tnmetapu
Polynesiane tapuit is sacredPOc*taᵐbuholy, forbidden
Aadjective
Mythology
1s.th., placesacred, endowed with spiritual powers
Temaka etapu, temaka pe li-tamava ene.A sacred place is one where rituals are performed.
seemam tadoespirit cave
Christianity
2in Christian religionholy
Aia God, enga eo etapu.Our Father God, hallowed be Thy name.
derivativemoe etapuchurch
Anthropology
3s.o.unapproachable; meant to be paid the highest respect
Lek’ iape etapu.kin relation[his cousin is ‘taboo’] His (female) cousin is to be highly respected.
4action, topicforbidden, taboo
Ngatene pon etapu tamwase pe li-vet’ piene ñi.This topic is very delicate to talk about.
Binterjectionetapu!
used aloneit is forbiddenstop! don't! Used to stop s.o. from their action
Etapu! Ña leka kape i-rom’ eo!Don't! Your cousin might see you!
CTense Aspect Mood marker
Lvnikaie
Tnmetapu
Grammar
1clause-final, preceded by Irrealis verbProhibitive: don't
U-koie etapu!Don't go in!
U-vet' ene etapu!Don't give me away!
U-met' eo ñe ene etapu!Don't shy away from me!
Pe-madau etapu, ponu menuko iaba.Don't be scared, this is our friend.
U-wai u-mabui! Kiane ’tapu!following adjectivePaddle slowly! Not too fast!
2in subordinate clause… that you don't (do P)
Mat’ eo nara kape u-wasi ñe idi ’tapu.Be careful not to give (the secret) away. [lit. make sure that you shall not reveal…]
ete ete noun, kinship
Lvnpwapwa
Tnmina, papu
1set’ one2sete3set’ iape3pet’ ada
Kin
1mother, Mum
et' onemy mother
eteyour mother
Et' ie ngele na?Whose mother is this?
2classificatory mother: any female member of the preceding generation (M, MZ, MBW, FZ, FBW)
📘 The symmetrical term is menu (Pl. dameliko) or apali.
etelo1 etelo noun
Birds
Brown BoobySula leucogaster.
etelo2 etelo noun
Sea
ascidian, k.o. marine invertebrateAscidiacea spp.
~etengi (i·)eteŋi verb, intransitive
Lvn~tengi
Tnm~etange
POc*taŋiscry
1cry, weep
Emele pon i-mene i-te i-etengi.The woman refused, and sat down crying.
seetengirotears
2espcry for, mourn the death (of s.o., ñe or se)
Dapa iape li-etengi ñe ini ka li-lu bete.His family mourned him, and began the mat ceremony.
3animalcall, esp. with high-pitched voice
Pusi i-etengi.The cat is meowing.
4alarm, phone+ring, make noise
5sun, aevebe such and such time
Aeve i-etengi kwate i-da tilu-tae.It’s 8:30 [lit. the sun is ringing 30 over 8]
Ne-ko ne-tabo ne-le ne kulumoe ne aeve i-etengi wa-tili.I'll return to the village at 5pm [when the sun strikes five times].
etera etera locative
in the bush, in the gardens
seengogorobush
seesekelegarden
et’ iape eˈʧape noun
‘his/her/its mother’: 3sg form of ete
Noma ini nga et’ iape!His face is just like his mum's!
MorphologyThis is one of the only forms where the sound [ʧ] appears regularly.
eva eva noun
Cf. evele
Birds
Swamp HarrierCircus approximans.
evele evele noun
Cf. eva
Birds
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus.
evero evero noun
Flora
k.o. tree, unidentified
evero moloe noun
Flora
red everok.o. tree (Acanthaceae)Pseuderanthemum carruthersii.
ewe ewe interjection
Lvnewe
Tnmewe
yes: when answering a question in the positive
Kape u-ali pele ponu? – Ewe.Are you going netfishing? – Yes.
A-ko u-ka u-katau keba? – Ewe, awa ene i-viane, ia mou.Do you want to come with us? – Yes, I'd love to; but not yet.
synonymiaini
synonymio