mte

Bingham: Hiram Bingham, A Gilbertese-English Dictionary (1908, 1953). American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.
Sabatier: Ernest Sabatier, M.S.C., Dictionnaire Gilbertin-Français (1954), translated by Sr. M. Oliva as Gilbertese-English Dictionary (1971). South Pacific Commission Publications Bureau.

Bingham

m/te

va. reduced to small pieces by cutting as a plug of tobacco.

m/te

n. dry or decayed leafves used in fertilizeing.

mte

a. small, fine, in small grains.

sup. mtemte: very fine, in fine powder.

vc. ka-mtea, kamtemtea: to cut fine, to crush into small pieces (for ex. tobacco), to shred fine.