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A Combined

Kiribati-English Dictionary

based on the works of

Hiram Bingham, D.D.
and
Father Ernest Sabatier, M.S.C.
(translated by Sr. M. Oliva)

with additional scientific material from Luomala, Goo & Banner.

B -Bingham, Hiram. 1908, 1953. A Gilbertese-English Dictionary. vii, 179 pp (8vo). American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston.
O -Sabatier, Ernest. 1954. Dictionnaire Gilbertin-Français. xii, 984pp, duplicated. Mission Catholique, GI, Abaiang, Tabwiroa. 1971. Gilbertese-English Dictionary. translated by Sr. M. Oliva. x, 426pp, Sacred Heart Mission, Tarawa. South Pacific Commission Publications Bureau, Sydney.
G -Goo, Fannie C.C. & Albert H. Banner. 1963. A Preliminary Compilation of Gilbertese Animal and Plant Names. 2, 2, 55, 10, 26cm. prepared under contract SA-43-ph-3741, National Institute of Neurological Diseas. UH - Haw. Marine Lab., Honolulu.
L -Luomala, Katharine. 1953. Ethnobotany of the Gilbert Islands. Bishop Museum Bulletin 213, v, 129pp, map, bibl 122-4, index, 26cm. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu.

compiled by
Stephen Trussel and Gordon W. Groves,
University of Hawaii, 1978

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a

a

B a 
  suf him, her, it, a suffix pronoun following an active transitive verb, usually united to the root by i
  pron they, when in the nominative case. in this case it is always followed by the predicate
  aux a sign of the perfect tense, or of action just completed, often used to express a future immediate action
  aux affirmative particle much like am, are, is, etc
  n under side
  n core base of the pan bunch
  n stick used in netweaving for measuring the meshes
  n marine animal with thorns
  n dandruff
  vi gape
  a four, always followed by a numeral suffix, ai, ua, ung, man, na, kai, kora, or by a certain noun as bong, ririki, ritoro, inaki, atao, ba, or by certain adjectives as bwi, bubua, etc,
O a 
  suf it (p.p. object suffix of the 3rd pers. joined to v.t.). It is joined to the root word either directly or by the intermediary of an i or an e or by redoubling of the preceding consonant or redoubling itself
  ex katekea: pierce it
  ex ko noria: you see it
  ex I kamamaea: I made him ashamed
  ex a tiringnga: they killed it
  ex e kabaka: he let it fall
  ex a kanna: they ate it, etc.
O a1 
  suf part. sign of v.t. when these have an object in the sing.
  ex I nora te kaibuke: I see the ship
  ex e urakina te kai: he carries the stick
O a2 
  aux preceding verbs to show an immediate past or future and sometimes to express the result of an action or a state attained
  ex e a nako: he has gone
  ex I a kabaia: I am happy
  ex e a mananga te aba: we are about to go
O a3 
  pron they
O a4 
  adj root of the num. adj. meaning four (4), the suff. being either a kind as for example, a-ua, a-kai; or a simple noun
  ex a-bong, a-ririki, a-ba
  note or again the num. adj. indicating tens, hundreds, thousands, millions:
  ex a-bwi (40), a-ngaun, a-bubua,a-nga, a-mirion.
O aa5 
  n a sea urchin with poisonous spikes.
O aa6 
  n the heart or core of certain fruit
  ex aan te mai: core of breadfruit
  ex aan te tou: core of pandanus
O aa7 
  n a kind of flour, kabubu, made from the pandanus fruit and mixed with the core of the fruit as well as the pulp
  see kabubu
O aa8 
  n a food prepared from a mixture of the core of pandanus fruit and syrup of toddy. (the core is cooked, minced, dried in the sun and ground beforehand.)
O aa9 
  n a small wooden tool used to shape the mesh in making fishing nets.
O aa10 
  n dandruff, desquamation. a peeling, scaling off.
O aa11 
  n yawn.
  v to yawn
  ex te aa ni kanimatu, te aa ni matu: a sleepy yawn
  ex e ka-aa-nako: he is yawning, beginning to yawn, he is not interested.
O aa12 
  n aan te: the underneath, the bottom, the base, the groundwork , the foundation
  ex an te Ekaretia Petero: Peter is the foundation of the church
  ex te aa ni kabakoa,... ni kabara: sea bottom favourable for shark fishing
  ex te aa ro: dark sea bottom
  ex te aa ota: clear sea bottom
  vt ana: to put a prop against, to support
  n aanan, aanakin: the act of supporting, being supported
  nv fig. antaeka (aan taeka), anibana (aa ni bana): to be subject, yield, submit
  ex e riai n antaeka te aine iroun te mane: woman must be subject to man
  n fig. an te taeka: hidden meaning of a word
  n fig. te antari: distant relatives, distant relative.
  ex antaru, antarim, antarina, etc.
  ex bu: near relatives or relative
  ex au bu, am bu, ana bu, etc..
  pref dim. joined to certain words
  ex a-karewe: slightly sweet
  ex a-bue: slightly warm
  adv i an: beneath , under
  ex e amarake te katama i an te taibora: the cat eats under the table

aai

B áai 
  a four, in counting hardware, furniture, chests, barrels, timbers, fingers, teeth, cocoanut-leaf stems, large fish, as sharks and ikari

aba

B aába 
  a four, in counting leafves
B ába 
  n land
  n people, generally, the world
  n abba [religious title] (ENG)
O aba 
  n country, land, earth, world, property.
  fig people, the crowd, they
  ex e mananga te aba: they are going
  ex te aba n taningo: a distant country
  ex te aba n uea: a kingdom
  ex te aba n utu: land inherited or land of a family
  ex te aba n tangira: land given or received as a gift
  ex te aba n nebonebo: land given or received in compensation for a murder
  ex te aba n toka: land captured in war
  ex te aba te bora: land given or received on account of a certain ancient custom (a woman putting a wreath of flowers around the neck of an uncle (distant) of her husband during a public assembly)
  ex te aba ni kakua: land given or received in gratitude for assistance
  ex te aba ni batike: land or place where a person found sanctuary or refuge from an enemy
  see ababa, abana, etc.
  ex abarerei: flourishing land
  ex te aba ni mumuta: reward for nursing
  ex te aba n tibu: for adoption
O aba1 
  a four (for counting leaves)

ababa

B abába 
  vi inherit as land
  a having much land
O abaaba 
  n heritage or possession of land
  ex te tia-ababa: the heir or land owner
  v to inherit or receive a piece of land
  vc kaababea: to give or bequeath land to

ababaki

B abábaki 
  a great, large, tall, famous
  n greatness, largeness, great height of a man
O abaabaki 
  a big, vast, expansive, high.
  n extent, size, height, etc.
  vc ka-ababaka: to enlarge, make bigger, etc.
  see abaki

abaiang

O Abaiang 
  n an island of the group situated in the north, discovered by Gilbert and Marshall, 20th June, 1788

abakaei

B ábakáei 
  a great, large, much
  note used without the pronoun prefix in a statement in which abakaei is the predicate
O abakaei 
  a big, very big, immense
  see kaei

abakati

O abakati 
  n halfcaste, European or Chinese (mixed race) (ENG)
  ex te abakati n I Matang: half European
  ex te abakati n Tiaina: half Chinese

abaki

B abáki 
  n size, dimension
O abaki 
  n size, dimension, area, extent
  ex te toa abakina: it is a great size
  ex abaki ra?: what size?
  see ababaki

abamakoro

B ába-mákoro 
  n island
O abamakoro 
  n islet, island (land cut by passages)

abana

B ábana 
  vt hold or possess as land
O abana 
  vt to inherit, to take possession of land or country
  ex kam na abana te abanuea: you shall possess the kingdom

abaoti

B abáoti 
  n abode of spirits

abari

B abári 
  n slimy, soft marine animal, clinging to the rocks on the flat
O abari 
  n land extending under the water
  ex te akawa i abari: good fishing ground
O abari1 
  n idem. mythical submerged shoal, path of departed soul to land of the dead, after leaving refuge of Abatiku

abariringa

O Abariringa 
  n Canton Is. an island of the Phoenix Group, formerly used as an air base on Trans-Pacific route. discovered by Barney in 1823-24

abarunga

O abarunga 
  n assembly, crowd
  ex e runga te aba: the crowd gathers

abataningo

B abatáningo 
  a far away, distant in space
O abataningo 
  n very distant country

abatao

O abatao 
  n low lying land, often submerged

abatati

O abatati 
  n steep cliff, sloping country, far to the south, land of Ka:ma and Nei Teba, ancient ancestors. (Kama: Southern Cross; Teba: a star.)

abatera

O abatera 
  n aba tera? what country? unknown country
  ex te I-abatera, kain abatera, manin abatera: a stranger whose country is unknown, who excites curiosity

abatiku

O abatiku 
  n place of sojourn, refuge
O Abatiku 
  n name of small island in Abemama. myth. place where body stays when soul leaves for land of the dead

abatoa

O abatoa 
  n large country, the first to be created by Na Areau (myth.)

abea

B abéa 
  n fish bait
O abea 
  n bait, charm
  ex katekea te abea: bait the hook

abeana

O abeana 
  vt to use as bait, to choose a certain bait

abebete

O abebete 
  a very light

abein

B abéin 
  n covered basket
  n stomach
O abein 
  n small basket with lid, small handbag, crop, maw, stomach

abemama

O Abemama 
  n Hopper Island, situated in the centre of the Gilbert Group. Discovered in 1788 by Gilbert and Marshall

abetara

B ábe-tára 
  n half-dollarr, 50 cents (ENG)
O abetara 
  n half dollar (ENG)

abete

O aabete 
  n very light, used only in the negative and in fig. sense
  ex te aomata ae akea abetena: a man of low birth or low class
  ex te aomata ae akea warena (akea warena): a nobody

abi

B 'ábi 
  n harp (ENG)
O aabi 
  n harp (ENG)

abina

O aabina 
  vt to prepare either in thought, word, or action, to make a choice, to make a plan to ..., to finalize a project
  ex e abina ana reirei te tia reirei: the teacher prepares his lessons
  ex e abina manangana: he prepares for a trip

abinoa

O Abinoa 
  n Nei Abinoa: a female spirit

abiti

B aábiti 
  n hops (ENG)
  bk Geog p 38

abo

B æ/bo 
  n fish-line attached to a rod
O abo 
  n cord used formerly by dance composers, tied to end of stick and turned in the air to get inspirations, imitating fishing with a rod. magic rite performed at dawn on the east side of the island; te kai ni kario maneve, ni kabuti
O abo1 
  n fish line
  ex te kai n abo, te kai n roa: fishing rod

aboabo

B áboábo 
  n sort, kind, style, character
  a having the character of
O aboabo 
  and abo
  n a beginning, a kind, a species; type of, esp. of persons.
  a being of a certain kind, inaugurating a certain type
  ex te abo n rang: a worthless character
  ex te aboabo n aomata: a kind, well mannered person
  ex te ang aboabo: gusty wind
  ex te ang tan aboabo: wind broken by obstacles

aboaboka

B aboabóka 
  vt frequentative of aboka

aboabonaomata

B áboábónáomata 
  a of a humane character

aboabonran

B áboábonran/ 
  a inhospitablee, not humane

aboka

B abóka 
  vt begin, commence
O aboka 
  n type, kind, species
  see aboabo, aeka
  ex te aboka teuana, te aeka n aomata teuana, te waki teuana, te kabo: queer type,... character, strange system
O aboka 
  n beginning, starting.
  v to set going, to begin, to take up.
  vt aboka, aboaboka: begin by, commence (speech)
  ex e aboka ana taeka: he began by saying

abora

B ábora 
  n apple (ENG)
O abora 
  n apple (ENG)

abotoro

O Abotoro 
  n Apostle (ENG)
  syn te tia-tuatua (Protestant)

abu

O aabu 
  orig a:-bua
  n reduction, loss.
  v to waste away
  ex e abua rabatan te aomata anne: that man is getting thin
  ex e abua au takataka: my copra seems to be diminishing in weight by drying

abua

B aábua 
  n strong probability or likelyihood
O abua 
  n te abua, abua n . . . probability, likelihood, from certain signs
  ex e abua te mate: probability of death
  ex te abua ni buaka: presentiment of war
  ex ngke e abua n roko: if there was a probability of his coming
  vt (apua) to have a presentiment, foresee a probability
  see ananga
  ex e abuaki te buaka: there is a fear, a likelihood of war

abuabu

B ábuabu 
  vi scooping up
  n a game
O abuabu 
  n a catch with both hands.
  v to seize, to lay hold of (as in ball games), to massage, ... to knead with hands

abuabuta

B abuabúta 
  vt frequentative of abuta

abubua

B abúbua 
  a four hundred
O abubua 
  a four hundred

abue

O abue 
  na moderately warm, more than lukewarm

abuta

B ábuta 
  vt take up a handful
O abuta 
  v to take by handfuls.
  n te abutana, uabutana: a handful, two handfuls, etc.

abwi

B ábwi 
  a forty
  see angaun
O abwi 
  a forty
  syn a-ngaun

ae

B áe 
  pron who, which
  n general term for driftwood,etc.
  vi crawl
  int (apologetic), used at the end of a response
  adv here, used thus,"here,take it"
O ae 
  rel who, which, whom, that
  ex te tei ae biri: the child who runs te aomata ae I noria: the man whom I see
  rel pl. aika. particle ligative aux. joining either a noun to a noun, or a noun to an adj. or an adverb, or a noun to a prepositional or adverbial phrase
  ex te tikuru ae te burati: a brass screw
  ex te tei ae uarereke: a small child
  ex te kiri ae ikai: the dog which is here
  see ane, are, aika, akanne
O ae1 
  intj eng ae! e koaua ae! ngkoa ae!
O ae2 
  syn aei!
  adv here, behold! look here!
  intj (ae') termination of songs of ruoia. Probably same meaning as preceding ae
O ae3 
  n driftwood, anything thrown up on the beach by the sea, such as shells, coconuts, wood, etc.
O ae4 
  n te aeae: timber, fruit or other things tied together and towed in the sea
  ex te ae ni ben: raft of coconuts
  ex te ae ni kai: raft of timber

aea

B áea 
  a four million
  vt slit
B aeá 
  intj satisfaction, applause, or triumph
O aea 
  vt to tow or drag a raft of timber, fruit or other things.
  red aeaea (used more frequently than aea).
  vc kaaea, kaaeaea
O aea1 
  vt to saw, split or divide lengthwise.
  red aeaea.
  v aean, aeakin, aeaean, aeaeakin

aeae

B áeae 
  vi crawl
  vi slitting
  n collection or float of nuts on sticks for transportation by water
O aeae 
  v to drag or tow.
  n a raft
O aeae1 
  vt to approach a person, or penetrate into a place stealthily with bad intentions.
  n the action itself.
  ex forms: aeae, aena, aeaena
O aeae2 
  n crawling.
  v to crawl (pers. snake, eel)

aeaea

B aeáea 
  vt tow, drag
  n towing

aeaeka

B aeáeka 
  vt frequentative of aeka

aeaena

B aeáena 
  vt frequentative of aena crawl to

aeaerake

B aeáerake 
  vi frequentative of aerake

aebai

B áebai 
  vi lay or place the hand upon a person
  ex tai aebai i aon raom.
B áeb'ai 
  vi dress up
O aebai 
  v to dress, put on one's clothes, togs, to show off
O aebai1 
  v to touch with hands.
  n touch.
  vt aebaia

aei

B áei 
  pron this
  adv here
O aei 
  pron dem. this, this one
  ex te bai aei: this thing
  ex neiei (contr. of nei aei): this woman or female
  ex teuaei (contr. of ten aei): this man or this male.
  pl aikai: those
  note aei is used for what is near in time or space
  see anne, arei
  adv here
  ex ao aei, ai aei, kai aei: here, here it is

aeka

B áeka 
  vt take as food from the fire
  vt take a passenger ashore in a canoe
  n sort, kind, variety
O aeka 
  vt to transport or convey by craft or vehicle.
  red aeaeka.
  n te aeaeki: transportation
  ex te wa n aeaeki: embarkation
O aeka1 
  and aekarake
  vt to bring ashore.
  vc kaaerakia
O aeka2 
  vt to draw away, withdraw from . . .
  n aekan, aekakin
  ex aekia man te ai: take it off the fire
O aeka3 
  n kind, species, sort, variety
  ex te aekana, uaaeka, ten aeka, etc.: one kind, two kinds, three kinds, etc.

aekaki

O aekaki 
  syn aeka
  n kind, species, etc.
  ex bon te aekaki teuana teuaei: this is a queer fellow, special variety , curious kind

aena

B áena 
  vt crawl to
O aena 
  from aeae
  vt to approach stealthily, to crawl,... tend towards
  ex te aine ae aenaki: a woman assaulted, violated, surprised

aeng!

O aeng! 
  orig a eng (probably)
  intj affirmation, mitigated, with mental reservation); sign of consent, ironical or uninterested

aera

B áera 
  vi what ... doing?
O aera 
  int interrogative v.
  ex ko aera?: what are you doing?
  ex ba I aera?: what about what I am doing?
  ex e aera Ioane ngkai e anene?: why is John singing?

aerake

B áerake 
  vi go ashore
O aerake 
  v to go towards the land or beach, go ashore, to land.
  n te aerake, aeraken: disembarkment
  ex te kaaerake, kaaeraken: the landing of

aerakea

O aerakea 
  vt form of aerake: to go towards the shore or land. . .
  vc kaaerakea: to carry or bring or pull towards the shore
  ex a aerakea te maunga: they climbed the mountain

aero

B áero 
  n comb of a fowl
O aero 
  n comb of a cock or bird, or of certain shell fish.
  v kakaero: to make the comb vibrate, sing.
  n te kakaero: cock crow.
  vc kakaaeroa: make cock crow

aerona

B áerona 
  vt prepare for a fire in an oven
O aerona 
  vt to fill a native baking oven with wood for cooking

aeto

B áeto 
  vi rise up straight as smoke
  n very straight sapling
O aeto 
  n a shoot or sprout of a shrub or young tree growing up straight , slender and pointed, a switch, rod.
  a straight, pointed, slender
  ex te kaeto: a long, thin, straight object
  ex te aeto ni mamira: rod used by composers of rouia in a kind of sorcery called mamira
  ex bon te aeto ni mamira: it is a nice rod like one for....
  vc ka-aetoa: to make straight

aetorake

O aetorake 
  v to go up straight, grow straight, vertically (smoke in fine weather).
  a vertical.
  vc ka-aetorakea.

ai

B ái 
  n flint lock musket
  n fire
  vi come to a head as a boil
  vi rise as the moon
  a numeral suffix
  see a
  see aai
  adv particle of affirmation
B aái 
  a four
  see aai
  vi swing as an axe
  n large land crab
  n large axe
  vt tow
O ai 
  adj for counting certain categories; ex. matches, bottles, pieces of wood, big fish, tools, long objects; teaina, uai, tenai, ai, nimai, oneai, itiai, wanai, ruai, tengaun: one, two, three, etc. <(N.) -- tg>
O ai1 
  intj word accentuating the exclamation tone of a phrase
  ex ai ko keve!: nonsense!, you are telling a lie!
  ex ai ngai!: it is I!
  note sometimes it gives the exclamatory tone to the phrase
  ex ai tenua te namakaina n nako: it is now three months ago
O ai2 
  pref as, the same as, in like manner
  ex n ai arou: as I
  ex e taetae n ai aron te mane: he speaks like a man
  ex ai tamaroa ra!: how beautiful!
  ex ai bon ngkoe!: well!, it's you!
O ai3 
  adv word preceding names of relatives to modify the meaning
  ex ai tamau: my uncle (the same as my father)
  ex ai tinau: my aunt
  ex ai taru, ai maneu: my cousins
O ai4 
  pref to some words having the meaning of reciprocity
  ex aioro, aitara, airua, etc. hit one another, look at each
O ai5 
  suf to certain words to signify suddenness, rapidity
  ex enatinai, enarinai, nibaeai, waeai, maeai, menai, etc.
O ai6 
  suf joined to tr. verbs to show the 1st pers. of the pers. pron. objective case sing.
  ex e karineai: he respects me
  ex ko na buokai: help me
O ai7 
  n the ace (in cards)
O ai8 
  n the fire.
  fig fervour, passion, ardour
  ex kamaka am ai: stir up your fire
  ex ain te nano: ardour, fervour, zeal
  ex kakana te ai: add firewood to fire
O ai9 
  v to give its fire, get red, glow
  ex e ai, e ai ota, e a ai namakaina
O ai10 
  v to heap up, accumulate, build
  ex ai-ma: to make a fish trap of stones like a wall; ai-ngao: make a nest
  vt aia, aiarakea.
  red aiaia.
  vc kaaiarakea.
O ai11 
  root of aita
  v to drag, pull, withdraw
  ex ai-ben: drag coconuts
  ex ai-rin: drag coconut leaves
  ex airo: pull the anchor
  ex ai-baba: pull at the sail rope
  ex ai-okaoka: fish for the okaoka
  red aiai
  see aita
O ai12 
  root of aira
  n ocean current (used only in compound words)
  ex e ai-rake, e airio, e ai-nakoiang, e ai-nakoaiaki: the current is going east, west, north, south
  ex te ainako: the current flows from the land
  ex te ai-raoi: favourable current
  ex te ai-buaka: unfavourable current.
  vc kaairakea, kaairioa: wait for the current to turn east, west
  ex kaairaoia: wait for a favourable current
O ai13 
  a four
  from root a + suffix. ai a-ai
O ai14 
  n coconut crabb (edible),
  sn Birgus latro
O ai15 
  n a big axe.
O ai16 
  n part of the line used in the game kabane which is held in the hand to make it turn
  ex ni aia: turn a string around this part
O ai17 
  n glimmer, light, spark, radiance, illumination.
  v to glimmer, to illuminate, to sparkle, to shine
  ex e ai mainiku: the east is aglow
  ex e ai namakaina: the moon is shining
G ai: 
  sn Birgus latro
  n coconut crabb (i)

ai baba