Atkinson. — The Aryo-Semitic MkovL 573 



follow 8keat, who derives raven from a root KRAP, also ex- 

 pressive of souud, we should have to give up the rw-u ; but, 

 with tlie mitial /.-, we should be still farther than before from the 

 others. 



I have mentioned that Mr. Tregear says " the Maori taura, 

 a rope, is pure taunts, a bull ;" but he seems to have overlooked 

 the fact that taura itself occurs in Latin, and as a feminine 

 form: I have even heard of its being translated "a female 

 bull." The translation involves difficulties of its own, but is 

 valuable as suggesting a possible relationship with the extreme 

 West Aryan or Irish " bulls." I will only add that the Greek 

 and Latin forms of the word, tauros and taurus, seem, according 

 to Skeat, and Liddell and Scott, to have lost an initial s, the 

 root being STU ; so that, in this respect, the English word 

 steer, which is from the same root, is the older. 



Again, the Maori taitea, " fearful, timid," is coupled with 

 (Gr.) deido, I fear. But it will be said, and I think truly, that 

 taitea is really two words, tai and tea, (each of which enters 

 freely into composition with many others), and that in any case 

 its obvious meaning is its origmal meaning, " the white part " 

 {i.e., the sap wood) of a tree ; as in the proverb, " Puiia te taitea, 

 Ma tu ko taikaka anake," or shortly, " liuia taitea, ivaiho 

 taikaka' — "Throw away the sap, that the heart only maybe 

 left," i.e., " Put the common people out of it, and let chiefs only 

 take part." The meaning is the same, but the verbal anti- 

 thesis is more obvious, if taikura, " the red (or brown) part," is 

 substituted for taikaka, I may add that kaikea in Hawaiian is 

 the same word, and has the same meaning of " sap-wood," from 

 its whiteness. It seems reasonable, therefore, to suppose that 

 if the dark-coloured, durable heart of the tree represented the 

 competent man, or chief, the hght-coloured perishable sap would 

 represent incompetence in various forms, including certainly 

 timidity. If taitea is to be etymologically connected with deido, 

 the root of which is Dl, it should, I presume, be through this 

 root. But which half of the composite taitea are we to connect 

 with it ? Eemembering the compounds of each, the choice is 

 evidently embarrassing.* 



Again, Sanskrit duhdha, "doubt," is compared with Maori 

 tupua, which, as an adjective, Archdeacon Williams translates 

 " strange," and Mr. Tregear adds, without giving his authority, 

 "uncertain." Does its use as a substantive help to connect it 

 with " doubt " ? It means demon, or taniwha, i.e., a water mon- 

 ster. And it is to be noted that the word appears also as tipua, 



* It might be thought ih&i tea, "light-coloured," would naturally con- 

 nect itself with fear, but, on the principle that a good horse cannot be of a 

 bad colour, the akatea, the " white (barked) creeper," is from its durability 

 taken as an emblem of strength and excellence, e.g., " Rangitihi te upoko % 

 takaia ki te akatea." 



