Definition of "tara"

tara¹

/tæˈɹɑː/

interjection
1. (Northern England, Midlands or informal) Goodbye; equivalent to the more geographically widespread ta ta.

tara²

/ˈtɑːrɑː/

noun
plural taras
1. (New Zealand, rare) The tern.
  Quotations
  These are Hine-karoro (origin and personification of the karoro, or black-billed gull), the next born being Hine-tara (the tara, or tern); the next is Hine-tore. The last born of that lot was Punga, the origin of […]
  1909, Royal Society of New Zealand, Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, page 273
  Another account says that a tara (tern) and other birds alighted at Tahunatapu, the first part of the fish to surface, and that Maui greeted its appearance with an incantation that included the words : Appears the great land lying […]
  1977, Alexander Wyclif Reed, Treasury of Maori Exploration: Legends Relating to the First Polynesian Explorers of New Zealand, Raupo
  Most numerous and widespread of the terns of Aotearoa are the tara, or white-fronted terns. Another species, also named tara , is the smaller black-fronted tern. […]
  2003, Margaret Orbell, Birds of Aotearoa: A Natural and Cultural History, Raupo
  Again it is said that the tara (tern) alighted on the new land at Tahunatapu, the first part to emerge from the sea, and was followed by other birds. Māui recited an incantation of welcome which included the words : Appears the […]
  2004, Alexander Wyclif Reed, Ross Calman, Reed Book of Maori Mythology, Raupo