‘ei¹,

1. (-a, -‘ia). (Wear) a necklace, garland, wreath, chaplet, scarf.

Tē ‘ei nei au i tōku ‘ei poe pārau,
I‘m wearing my pearl necklace;

‘Eia tō‘ou ‘ei,
put on your lei (necklace of flowers);

Nōku te ‘ei tiare māori, nō‘ou te ‘ei ‘ara ‘āmoa,
mine is the gardenia necklace, yours is the pandanus one;

‘Ei Kātorika,
rosary;

‘Ei tātauro,
cross (crucifix) worn round the neck;

Tē tui ‘ei ra ‘a Runa mā,
Runa and the others are making wreaths;

Nō‘ai tēia pare ‘ei?
whose chaplet is this?;

E ‘ei i tō tā‘ei ‘uru‘uru ki runga i tō kakī,
wrap your woollen scarf around your neck.

2. v.i. Encircled, ensnared, trapped, caught (in net, web, noose, snare, trap).

Kua ‘ei te ika ki roto i te kupenga,
the fish were caught in the net;

Kua ‘ei te moa taetaevao ki roto i te pū‘ere‘ere,
the wild fowl was trapped in a snare;

Kua pūtaka‘iti te rango i te ‘ei‘anga ki roto i te pūngāverevere,
the fly struggled, caught in the cobweb.
(see ‘ā‘ei, tā‘ei(‘ei)).
[Pn. *sei.]