M - m
maa vambi. grate using fatma e.g. grate vegetable onto leaves to make laplap. See: trai.
maaf vintr. open, as of a flower or start, as of a war, burst, as of a boil.
maag1 vintr. open, be open, of a door, or a clam shell, or one's mouth.
maag2 vintr. stare, look at (e.g. a performance), admire (and see maag 'to be open').
maagko n. mango. Category: plants.
m̃aak vintr. peep.
m̃aal adj. smooth, of a coconut, the outside cleaned well.
m̃aalm̃aal adj. clear.
p̃au m̃aalm̃aal bald. See: p̃aukaplat; p̃aum̃osu.
maal n. hawk (type of bird). Category: birds.
maalep1 n. widow. See: p̃ut; pakmaalep. Category: human relations.
maalep2 vintr. observe five days after death. See: up̃lim.
maama v. sharpen. See: pkal; faatmaama. Category: human artefact.
maar n. fish sp. Fusilier (Common mojarra). Category: aquatic creatures.
m̃aarak adj. clever, work hard.
maarik n. husband.
1 • husband. Category: human relations.
2 • mister, term of respect.
3 • spirit, respectful way of referring to a male spirit. See: natopu. Category: other supernatural.
maariktaku n. brother-in-law. Category: human relations.
maarikwi n. fish sp. Indo-Pacific bonefish. Albula glossodonta. Category: aquatic creatures.
maas vintr. cooked, to be.
maasp̃ok vintr. undercooked.
m̃aat n. snake. Category: other animals.
maat vintr. low tide. See: mu nmaat.
nmaat n. low tide.
nmaat ni p̃ulp̃og n. low tide in the morning.
nmaat ni kotfan n. low tide in the afternoon. See: mat; mu.
m̃aau n. giant, strong man. Category: human relations.
maet vintr. angry, to get angry with.
maf vintr. grow into.
m̃afei v. grab something firmly, squeezing and lifting, like grabbing hold of hair when you are in a fight, or grabbing hold of a leaves of a plant.
mai vintr. come, move towards.
aux. come.
dirpart. hither. Used as a directional particle to mean coming towards a location.
mailum adj. 1 • quiet, slow. mailum fkar, giggle.
2 • soft, weak; mailum tkali, dab (touch gently).
3 • easy.
mak v. don't know.
makol n. sugarcane sp. Category: plants. See: nap̃rai; trares; tukmel; nafakton.
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makos n. Sandalwood. Santalum austrocaledonicum. Category: plants.
makot vintr. broken.
makur See main entry: mokur.
mal1 n. 1 • time.
mal sees n. awhile. Category: temporal.
2 • hour.
3 • weather. Category: natural features.
mal2 vintr. refuse, not want to.
aux. not want.
m̃aler adj. calm (of the sea).
malfane Variant: malfanen. now.
adv. now, the time at which the event takes place. In a story set in the past, malfane refers to that time rather than the time when the story is told.
malier vintr. shame, be ashamed.
malig vintr. spilled, to be spilled.
malik Variant: nmalik. dark. Variant: nmalko.
n. dark.
m̃alit vintr. bang, explode.
malmal1 Variant: malamal. n. grass skirt. Category: human artefact.
malmal2 n. section, part, e.g. between knots of bamboo or cane.
m̃alm̃al n adj. 1 • clearing, a cleared area of land.
2 • clean place, also used in p̃au m̃alm̃al.
malnen Variant: malran. then. Variant: malnran; malen.
adv. 1 • then.
2 • as, at the time when.
malogot n. fish sp. Blackspot snapper. Not eaten due to ciguetera, (mam). Category: aquatic creatures.
maloput prep. middle.
m̃alosak vintr. look up.
malpa n. clearing, space between things.
malp̃al n. coward. Category: human relations.
malpei adv. before, a long time ago.
malp̃erik Variant: mlap̃erik. n. goshawk or falcon (type of bird), which flies very quickly. Category: birds.
maltali n. club, type of club or hitting stick. Category: human artefact.
m̃altelit v. crack, as in the noise made by a tree before it falls or a firecracker exploding.
maltotae vambi. avoid, ignore.
mam1 pron. 1 • we, us. (1st person plural).
2 • ours (1st person plural possessive) (inclusive and exclusive). See: mom; nigmam.
mam2 vintr. ripe, to be.
mam3 vintr. poisoned, to be poisoned by, e.g. ciguetera. See: nmal.
mamis adj. nearly ripe, to be. See: mam.
mamp̃ok adj. half ripe, to be. See: mam.
man nap̃lo n. Rufus brown pheasant dove (type of bird). Macropygia ???. Category: birds.
man ni nmalfa n. aeroplane. Category: human artefact.
man1 n. bird (generic). Category: birds.
man got n. blackbird. Category: birds, birds.
man2 num. uncountable, too many, also used in the idiomatic expression man go man, 'very many'. Category: numeral.
mana quantifier. group.
1 • group, follows a word to define an expected group: apap mana, iak mana, mother and father, ati mana, 'grandmothers'.
2 • approximately, used after a time for example to say 'roughly at that time': tri klok mana - around three o'clock.
3 • 'and so on', or 'like that'.
m̃aniek v. fiddle around purposefully.
manim̃at n. bird, white sea bird, maybe albatross. Category: birds.
manin v. feel dizzy from being up high, or the feeling you get being on a swing; vertigo.
maniot n. manioc, cassava. The leaves are not generally eaten. Manihot esculenta. Category: plants.
mankerkrai n. hawk, eagle (strong one) (type of bird). Category: birds.
mankotik adj. wounded, to be.
manmon n. roll of e.g. banana or manioc in island cabbage (called simboro in Bislama) cooked in a pot. See: nsem̃mantu.
manmun n. prisoner, someone who is punished for a certain period of time but still has their rights as landowners, unlike nafit. See: nafit. Category: human relations.
manopnop adj. round, perfect, to be. As of rocks for the oven, a fat child or an orange without marks on it.
manreu vintr. thirst.
mantap̃arp̃ar num. million. Category: numeral.
mantas n. Brown booby (type of bird). Sula leucogaster plotus. Category: birds.
mantilsei n. White breasted wood swallow (type of bird). Pachycephala pectoralis chlosurs ?. Category: birds.
mantu n. flying fox. Category: other animals, birds.
maomao vintr. tame.
1 • tame, make quiet.
2 • mediate.
maon vintr. sweat, to. See: nmaono.
maos vintr. tired, to be.
map̃el vintr. bend in half, for example bend your knees up to your chest.
map̃er n. fish sp. fish, small, good to eat but not everyone likes it, not good for asthmatics, has black and white markings. Swims with wel. Category: aquatic creatures.
map̃eriat n. fish sp. Angelfishes. Pomacanthidae. See: tiftif. Category: aquatic creatures.
map̃or vintr. broken.
map̃rap̃or vintr. broken. See: p̃or.
mapul n. Pacific Imperial Pigeon (type of bird). Ducula pacifica.
mapul ni ntaf n. Pacific Mountain Pigeon. Ducula bakeri. Category: birds.
mar vintr. breathe.
1 • breathe. See: nmar; marmar; marom̃iit. Category: body part or product.
marmar vintr. rest.
marom̃iit n. asthma.
mas1 vambi. 1 • saw, cut wood (for example).
2 • circumcise. See: tfei.
3 • clean, peel (e.g. yam).
mas2 aux. must (from Bislama).
mas3 vintr. sweep. See: sertao.
m̃as adv. only, just.
m̃asei n. star. Category: natural features.
m̃asei lep ni pulp̃og n. morning star. Category: natural features.
m̃asei lep ni kotfan n. evening star. Category: natural features.
m̃asel vambi. take out the rib of a leaf.
m̃asenrsenr adj. slippery, to be.
m̃aser vintr. hiccup.
m̃asm̃as nothing.
masmes n. knife. Category: human artefact.
masoksok adj. firm, to be firm, solid. As in a well-built house.
masp̃rai vambi. cut in half (e.g. peeled banana which one cooks).
masrot vintr. destroy, be destroyed.
mat vintr. die.
1 • die, be dead, nmaten - the dead body, mat karkar - really dead, matpel - half dead.
2 • low tide, to be low tide.
emat n. grave. See: natmat; nmaten. Category: human artefact.
mateu n. fish sp. Boxfishes, Trunkfishes and Puffers. Ostraciidae, Tetraodontidae. Category: aquatic creatures.
matit adj. smooth.
1 • smooth, to be.
2 • flat.
matmal vintr. faint, be unconscious.
m̃atoktok n. strong, brave man.
matol adj. thick, to be. As in a thick pile of things, but also as in a thick soup, or kava that has not been strained properly.
matool n. tomorrow, the future. Category: temporal.
matu1 adj. right side. See: metmatu.
matu2 adj. ripe, to be.
matuktuk vintr. wither.
matuktukurik n. insect, black beetle-like insect with orange on the top of its back which eats whitewood of canoes. Category: insects, grubs etc..
matur vintr. sleep.
maturkor vambi. care for, watch over.
mau1 Variant: maui. 1 • adj. all, whole, everyone.
2 • quantifier. all.
mau2 particle. not. Used as the second part of a negation, following the verb phrase.
maumau particle. used to emphasise the noun it follows, as in mp̃agon maumau 'at its very end'.
maur adj. left side, left handed. See: armatu; arworksu. Category: body part or product.
m̃aur n. fish sp. Slipmouth. Leiognathidae. Category: aquatic creatures.
maurkat Variant: maurikat. mangrove.
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n. mangrove, a small kind of mangrove, used for house posts and for the crossbeam of a canoe that holds the outrigger. Category: plants.
maus adj. half dry, to be. As of wood.
me1 conj. but, after, and.
me2 vintr. flood.
meel n. shade, shadow. See: al.
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meer n. moth. Category: insects, grubs etc..
mees adv. today. Category: temporal.
m̃el1 vintr. float.
m̃el2 vintr. escape, slip out of one's hands, fall off.
m̃elm̃el adj. weak, to be.
m̃eltig prep. close, next to.
mem vintr. piss.
me vtr. urinate, piss. This is a transitive form of the intransitive verb mem, one of the small set of couplets in which a distinction between an intransitive and transitive stem can be made.
memelim n. shellfish sp. Mauritian Conch, also general term for Cones. Strombus decorus decorus, Conidae. Category: aquatic creatures.
menal n. fish sp. Barracudas also menalmiel. Sphyraenidae.
mer1 aux. again, in turn, then.
mer2 vintr. numb, cramped, to be.
mer3 n. moth species, a brown moth. See: tagralim. Category: insects, grubs etc..
meramok n. fish sp.which lives in anenomes, and moves in and out of them.
mermer Variant: mer. rule.
vintr. rule, as of a chief ruling a village. See: mrag.
mes vintr. play, as in play a game, or play music. See: nameswen.
met1 adj. 1 • raw, to be.
2 • unripe.
met2 vintr. choose, as in choosing a wife.
metmaat n. conjunctivitus, pussy eyes (lit: dead eyes).
metm̃akur adj. selfish.
metmatu vintr. wise, to be.
nametmatuan n. knowledge. See: tae; ntaewen.
metmatur1 n. sensitive grass. Mimosa pudica. Category: plants.
metmatur2 adj. sleepy.
metp̃akor vambi. forget.
m̃etu vintr. sneeze.
mgal1 n. shell, large mother of pearl shell.
mgal2 v. pull out.
miel adj. red. Category: colours.
m̃iit n. mat. Category: human artefact.
mil adj. wild.
m̃ilo adj. dirty, to be. nam̃ilo is 'dirt'. Category: natural features.
mimi vintr. suckle, breastfeed. See: sus.
min vambi. drink.
minrog vambi. taste a drink, try by tasting. See: pamnrog.
mir vintr. dye hair.
misleo n. voice, tune. Category: body part or product.
m̃it adj. short, to be.
mkal n. ant. See: tup̃roor. Category: insects, grubs etc..
m̃la yawn; growl.
mla vintr. bad, to be; of food.
m̃la vintr. 1 • yawn.
2 • noise a devil makes when talking.
mlaanr adj. cold, cool.
mlaap adj. final, last. Category: numeral.
mlag vintr. break, like a wave in the ocean. See: tfarer.
mlakes adj. blue, to be. Category: colours.
m̃lakon adj. sour, food that has gone off, like yesterday's kava.
mlapuas n. owl, kind of owl (type of bird). See: malp̃erik; sokfal. Category: birds.
m̃latkon adj. sour, not as bitter as kookon. See: kookon.
m̃lato n. Vanuatu Fruit dove (type of bird). Ptilinopus tannensis. Category: birds.
mlau n. Incubator bird, likes hiding under napukmokul tree, building its nest in the rottentree trunk. Megapodius freycinet. Category: birds.
mlees adj. pink, to be. Category: colours.
mleomiel n. yam, type of yam. Category: plants.
mletik Variant: muletik. tip toes. Variant: m̃letik.
vintr. walk on tip toes.
mlil vintr. roll.
m̃nam̃on p̃ok adj. orange colour, to be. Category: colours.
m̃nam̃on adj. yellow, to be. Category: colours.
m̃ok v. pull out.
vambi. pull out.
mokur Variant: makur. skinny.
adj. skinny, also makurkur. See: mrara.
m̃ol1 vambi. squeeze, like squeezing kava or oranges.
m̃ol2 vintr. 1 • live, alive, of a living being, but can also be used e.g. of a volcano.
2 • healthy. Used of a person who is well, not sick.
mol vintr. hunt (for coconut crab only).
m̃olm̃ol n. testicles. Category: body part or product.
m̃oltao vambi. rinse clothes. See: preitao; pnultao.
mom pron. ours (1st person plural exclusive direct possessive). See: mam.
mon n. fish sp. Name recorded in the 1960s, but not known today.
m̃on vintr. swim under water.
m̃ool n. orange. Citrus sinensis. m̃ool fes is the native orange (Macroptera) whose juice is drunk but not highly valued. Category: plants.
m̃or vintr. submerge, as in a canoe filled with water but still floating. See: tut.
m̃ori n. true. See: til; tilm̃ori.
m̃orm̃rom vintr. stage of growth of plant just before buds.
mos vambi. carry inside something, like in a canoe, a wheelbarrow, or a car.
m̃osus vintr. withdraw, pull back, like an anemone.
mot vambi. bind. See: motsok.
motsok vambi. tie. See: mot.
motu adj. old.
1 • old.
2 • dense, of trees in a forest.
mp̃agon n inposs. 1 • buttocks.
2 • end, furthest point of something. See: nametp̃ag.
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mpak n. banyan, varieties of banyan are called mpakaul, mpak m̃aau. Category: plants.
mpaklep n. Anemone that lives in the sand. See: nrimen. Category: aquatic creatures.
mp̃akron Variant: mp̃akor. lid.
n inposs. lid, its.
mpakur ni elau n. tree, Tamanu. Calophyllum inophyllum. Category: plants.
mpakur ni euut n. tree, 'false Tamanu'. Note: fruit may be eaten (Tanna, Paama and Vanua Lava) but in other parts it is not eaten. Garcinia pseudoguttifera. Category: plants.
mpakus n. bush (generic). Category: plants.
mpal n. tree, Milkwood Tree. Tall tree used to make canoes. Bark used to be used for making cloth. Antiaris toxicaria. Category: plants.
mpalag v. sleep on top of something.
mpamun Variant: mpam. shoulder. Variant: npam.
n inposs. shoulder. Category: body part or product.
m̃p̃aron Variant: m̃p̃ar. side.
n inposs. 1 • side.
2 • side of face. MacDonald (late 1800s) has bora as the sides of the face and temple which women used to cut and tear open with sharp shells during mourning. Category: body part or product.
mpasok vambi. to hold a mat flat using a rock while weaving.
mpasul v. lie down among some things, e.g. mapsul nkal 'to lie among a heap of clothes'.
mpatur v. to go through a group of things, e.g., mpatur natam̃ol - 'go through a group of people'.
m̃p̃auwak n. shellfish sp. Tuberose Rock-shell. Thais bitubercularis. Category: aquatic creatures.
mra napuen n inposs. spinal column.
mra nm̃ap̃ n. Giant moray eel. Gymnothorax javanicus. Category: aquatic creatures.
mra tfei n. banded snake eel which lives in the sand and is not eaten. Category: aquatic creatures.
mra1 n. eel (generic). mra p̃anuk lives among stones. mra mtamok is eaten. (No further identification for these two named eels).
mra ni nai n. freshwater eel.
mra ni ntas n. moray eel, (also: mra maat, mra tfei). Category: aquatic creatures. See: takto.
mra2 vintr. bleed.
mrag vambi. rule, as of a chief ruling a village. See: mermer.
mrakor Variant: mirakor. trap.
n. trap, animal trap.
mram adj. clear.
1 • light, clear.
2 • Christian times, the 'light'.
mrara adj. thin.
1 • thin, for example of a thin person. See: mokur.
2 • shallow, of water.
mrer vintr. die down (of fire). Category: natural features.
mro vintr. think. See: mroperkati. Variant: mromromro.
mroperkat vintr. imagine, remember. See: mro.
mropir vambi. dislike.
mroput vintr. worry, be troubled, feel burdened.
mrotae vambi. recognise by thinking about something. See: letae; nrogtae.
msag vambi. fetch.
msai v. to have holes in it. See: msaisei.
msaisei adj. holey, full of holes, like a tin roof with lots of holes in it.
msak Variant: masak. sick.
vintr. sick. namsaki is 'sickness, disease'.
msal adj. different, to be.
mtaatak vambi. look after, hold onto (guard for oneself).
mtafus adj. stupid.
mtak vintr. fear.
mtakseu n. carpenter.
m̃tal vambi. harvest.
mtalu vambi. choose. See: tiptip.
mtapes n. orphan. Category: human relations.
mtar vintr. set, go down of the sun (for the moon use tanun. Category: natural features. See: tanun.
mtas vambi. scratch.
mtastes adj. scratched, skin scratched by something.
mtel v. fire glowing, having been burning brightly (sor) but no longer. See: sor; nfag.
mten adj. heavy.
namtenwen n. weight.
mtet adj. rotten, e.g., of wood, or tin roof, but not of food. See: p̃o.
mtir 1 • write.
vambi. write, paint.
namtirwen n. writing.
mtirtir adj. coloured, striped.
mtulep n. wife.
1 • wife, also nmatu. Category: human relations.
2 • spirit, respectful way of referring to a female spirit. Category: other supernatural.
3 • woman, old woman deserving of respect.
mu vintr. high tide, to be high tide. See: maat; puk.
mukal Variant: mkal. sharp.
adj. sharp. See: pkal.
mukalkal Variant: mkalkal. itch, be itchy.
vintr. itch, be itchy.
namkalkal n. itch. Category: body part or product.
m̃ul vambi. peel.
1 • peel, strip bark. As in stripping hibiscus branches (nap̃lel) to make string.
2 • slough.
m̃ulm̃ul vintr. flake, peel, e.g. of skin, or paint.
munwei n. doctor, healer, magician. Category: human relations. See: kulru; kulmam.
mur1 vambi. want. See: namurien; na.
mur2 vintr. smile, laugh.
mtamurmur vintr. smile a little, giggle.
mus pron. 1 • you (2nd person plural Object).
2 • your (2nd person plural inclusive possessive).
mut vambi. greedy, keeping something for yourself.
mutrei Variant: mitei. fermented breadfruit.
n. fermented breadfruit (archaic form not known today but found in writing on South Efate from the 1950s). Category: plants.
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