ma

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

The sound, which parents interpret as a reference to themselves, is very commonly made by infants. For more on the linguistic process whereby infants' monosyllables are tied to ancient word roots for parents, see mama, papa, mātēr, and patēr.

Etymology 3

Abbreviation.

Etymology 4

From my.

Etymology 5

From Cantonese 嘛 (maa³, “of course!”).^[1]

Etymology 6

From Mandarin 嗎／吗 (ma).

References

Anagrams

• A&M, A. M., am, A. & M., AM, 'am, Am., Am, a.m., a. m., A.M.

Noun

ma

1. mother

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Alternative forms

• máa

Etymology

From Proto-Afroasiatic *ma, *mi-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/ [ˈmʌ]

Determiner

má (bound form maa-)

1. what? what kind of?

References

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “ma”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ma (plural ma's)

1. mom, mother

Conjunction

ma

1. and

References

• Leenhardt, M. (1935) Vocabulaire et grammaire de la langue Houaïlou, Paris: Institut d'ethnologie. Cited in: "Houaïlou" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
• Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "Ajiø" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Etymology

Unknown. Compare Ge'ez -መ (-mma) (emphatic enclitic).

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /ma/

Particle

ma

1. (enclitic) and, but
2. (enclitic) used to stress single words, especially the predicate of nominal clauses

   𒌓𒈠𒈠 [ūmamma] ― u₄-ma-ma ― this very day

References

• Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) “-ma”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag

Alternative forms

• mà, Maa, Mann, Mànn, mo

Etymology

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Noun

ma m (Gressoney, Issime)

1. man
2. husband

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Verb

má

1. to love

Further reading

• Cristiane Benjamin Santos, Aspectos morfossintáticos dos pronomes pessoais em Anaan (2007)
• Bruce Connell, Lower Cross Wordlist

Noun

ma

1. (Mpakwithi) man

Verb

ma

1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to hear
2. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to listen

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187

Conjunction

ma

1. and

References

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

Etymology 1

From Latin magis. Compare Romanian mai.

Etymology 2

From Italian ma.

Alternative forms

• mamá

Etymology

See madre

Noun

ma f (plural mas)

1. mother

   Synonym: madre

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑ/

Etymology 1

Unstressed form of mia

Etymology 2

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”). Compare German man and Dutch men.

Pronoun

ma

1. my

Interjection

ma

1. good!

Conjunction

ma

1. that
2. if

Determiner

ma

1. Alternative spelling of my (“1st person singular possessive determiner”)

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Noun

ma

1. horse

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *mam, reduced form of Latin meam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ma]
• Homophone: mà

Determiner

ma

1. feminine singular of mon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mæ/

Pronoun

ma

1. they

Alternative forms

• (Langrois) mo

Etymology

Inherited from Old French mes, Latin magis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ma/

Noun

ma

1. (Troyen, Langrois) but

References

• Daunay, Jean (1998) Parlers de Champagne : Pour un classement thématique du vocabulaire des anciens parlers de Champagne (Aube - Marne - Haute-Marne)‎ (in French), Rumilly-lés-Vaudes
• Baudoin, Alphonse (1885) Glossaire de la forêt de Clairvaux‎ (in French), Troyes

Etymology 1

From Middle High German māne, from Old High German māno, from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”).

Etymology 2

An unstressed pronunciation of månn (“man”).

Noun

ma

1. hand.

Etymology

Related to widespread words for "mother" and related respectful terms for women across West Africa.

Noun

ma

1. mother-in-law

References

• Dalby, T. D. P. (1963) “The extinct language of Dama”, in Sierra Leone Language Review, volume 2, Freetown: Fourah Bay College, pages 50–54

Noun

ma

1. bee (insect)

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aː

Noun

ma f (plural ma's, diminutive maatje n)

1. (informal) mother

Verb

má

1. love, like

Further reading

• Bruce Connell, Lower Cross Wordlist

Etymology

Abbreviation of mina, from Proto-Finnic *minä, from Proto-Uralic *minä.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑ/

Pronoun

ma (genitive mu, partitive mind, long form mina)

1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)

Further reading

• “ma”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “ma”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
• ma in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ/, [ˈmɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Hyphenation^(key): ma

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

See minä; developed through contraction. Compare Estonian ma.

Determiner

ma

1. feminine singular of mon

Etymology

From Old French ma, from Latin meam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

• Audio:

  (file)

Determiner

ma f

1. feminine singular of mon

   Ma mère est venue me voir.

   My mother came to see me.

Further reading

• “ma”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/, [mä], [mɐ]

Adverb

ma

1. (colloquial) Pronunciation spelling of mal.

Pronoun

ma

1. 2nd-person singular pronoun: you
2. 2nd-person plural pronoun: you
3. 2nd-person singular possessive pronoun: your
4. 2nd-person plural possessive pronoun: your

See also

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/, [mə]

Preposition

ma

1. in, at

Etymology

Probably related to más.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -mɒ

Adverb

ma

1. today

   Synonym: (folksy) máma

   Coordinate terms: holnap, tegnap

   • 1975, Imre Kertész, translated by Tim Wilkinson, Sorstalanság, Budapest: Magvető Könyvkiadó (2016), →ISBN, page 5:

     Ma nem mentem iskolába. Azaz mentem, de csak, hogy hazakéredzkedjem az osztályfőnökömtől.

     I didn’t go to school today. Or rather, I did go, but only to ask my class teacher’s permission to take the day off.

2. (attributively, before any time of day) this …… (morning etc.), to-…… (as in “tonight”)

   ma reggel/délelőtt ― this morning

   ma délután ― this afternoon

   ma este ― this evening

   ma éjjel/éjszaka ― tonight

   ma hajnalban, délben, éjfélkor ― at dawn, noon, midnight today

Noun

ma (usually uncountable, plural mák)

2. (usually preceded by the definite article “a”) today (the present time period; nowadays)

Further reading

• ma in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• ma in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Etymology

Borrowed from French mais, Italian ma, Portuguese and Spanish mas, all from Latin magis, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Etymology

From Italian ma.

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Conjunction

ma

1. but
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 68:

     Ma sulo i tuoi bai uoci, anema meîa,

     But only your beautiful eyes, oh soul of mine

Alternative forms

• mà (misspelling or obsolete)

Etymology

From Latin magis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/^*, /ˈma/
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: mà

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Noun

ma f

1. Abbreviation of mamma.

Interjection

ma

1. (informal, emphatic) indicates emotion or emphasis

   Ma che carino! ― Oh, how cute!

2. (informal) used to introduce a new topic or a question

   Ma...tu sei di Roma? ― So...you're from Rome?

Further reading

• ma in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Romanization

ma

1. The hiragana syllable ま (ma) or the katakana syllable マ (ma) in Hepburn romanization.

Etymology

Cognate to Önge mi (“I; me”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

Pronoun

ma

1. me; us (singular and plural first-person pronoun in the accusative case)

References

• Kumar, Pramod (2012) Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 76—85.

Conjunction

ma

1. if

Adverb

ma

1. only

Noun

ma

1. daddy; father (term of address)

Noun

ma

1. water

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

References

Etymology

From Old Spanish mas, from Latin magis.

Conjunction

ma (Latin spelling)

1. but

   Synonym: ama

   • 1979 July, Moshe Shaul, “Istoria i Dezvelopamiento del Djudeo-Espaniol”, in Aki Yerushalayim‎, archived from the original on 3 December 2020, page 11:

     La primera de eyas es ke el djudeo-espaniol kontiene un grande numero de arkaizmos o sea, palavras ke eran empleadas en Espania asta el siglo XV ma ke dezparesieron dezde entonses de su vokabulario, mientres ke en el djudeo-espaniol kontinuan a existir asta oy.

     The first of them is that Judeo-Spanish contains a large number of archaisms, or rather, words that were used in Spain until the 15th century but which disappeared after then from its vocabulary, while in Judeo-Spanish they continue to be used to this day.

   • 2020 January 29, Metin Delevi, “El 27 de Enero es el dia de memoria de las viktimas del Nazismo, del Olokosto…”, in Şalom‎:

     Devemos de saver ke el antisemitizmo es una de las formas ekstremas del rasizmo ma ay otras formas de rasizmo i devemos de luchar kon todo modo forma del rasizmo.

     We must know that antisemitism is one of the extreme forms of racism, but there are other forms of racism and we must fight every form of racism.

2. why

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

Verb

-má

1. to stand

Etymology

Cognate with Lashi muì and Burmese အမွေ (a.mwe).

Noun

ma

1. inheritance
2. heirloom

References

• Dr. Ola Hanson, A Dictionary of the Kachin Language (1906).

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Etymology

From Proto-Paman *pama.

Noun

ma (ergative mal, dative maw)

1. man, person

Alternative forms

• minā

Etymology

Shorter form of minā.

Pronoun

ma

1. I; first person pronoun, referring to the speaker

References

Renāte Blumberga, Tapio Mäkeläinen, Karl Pajusalu (2013), Lībieši: vēsture, valoda un kultūra, Rīga: Līvõ Kultūr sidām, →ISBN

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma]

Verb

ma

1. third-person singular present of měś

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maː/
• Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /ma/.
• Homophone: ma’

Etymology 1

From Arabic مَا (mā, “not”).

Etymology 2

From Arabic مَا (mā, “what”).

Romanization

ma (ma⁵ / ma⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄇㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 么
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嗎 / 吗
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嘛
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 㕰

ma

1. Nonstandard spelling of mā.
2. Nonstandard spelling of má.
3. Nonstandard spelling of mǎ.
4. Nonstandard spelling of mà.

Noun

ma

1. dog

Noun

ma

1. milk

Adverb

ma

1. already

Particle

ma

1. separates the topic from the rest of the sentence.

   Oja ma haku.

   As for the pan, it is hot.

Pronoun

ma

1. Alternative form of man (“one, you”)

Etymology

Cognate with Suri ma.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mà/, [mà]
• Hyphenation: ma

Noun

ma (Ethiopic script ማ)

1. water
2. river

References

• David Turton, Moges Yigezu, Olisarali Olibui (2008) “ma”, in Mursi-English-Amharic dictionary, →ISBN, page 117
• Firew Girma Worku (2020) A grammar of Mursi, page 123

Etymology

From Latin magis. Compare Italian ma, French mais.

Conjunction

ma

1. but

Etymology

From Assamese মা (ma), Early Assamese মাৱ (mawo), from Prakrit 𑀫𑀸𑀬𑀸 (māyā), from Sanskrit माता (mātā).

Noun

ma

1. mother, mom

Etymology

From English my.

Determiner

ma (with tonal diacritic: má)

1. my

Preposition

ma

1. (Mooring) with

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

Verb

-má

1. to stand

Etymology

Derived from the 1st person dual suffix -ma, which itself is a neologism, found in 15th century texts, derived from the 1st person dual suffix -va under the influence of the 1st person plural suffices -m/-me/-my. There aren't many attestations of this pronoun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈma/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈma/

Pronoun

ma

1. (rare) we two (first person dual)

   Synonyms: vě, va

References

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “ma”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *maiz. Cognate with Old Frisian mā, Old Saxon mēr, Old Dutch mēr, Old High German mēr, Old Norse meir, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍃 (mais).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑː/

Adverb

mā

1. more
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' Metres of Boethius, lines 85-89

     Mid þȳ is ġetācnod þæt his trēowa sceal, and his mōdġeþonc, mā up þonne niþer habban tō heofonum.

     By that is betokened, that his trust shall, and his mind, more upwards than downwards aspire to the heavens.

   • The Life of Saint Margaret

     Sēo hāliġe fǣmne him andswarode and cwæþ, "Nis mē ālīefed þæt iċ þē tō seċġe, for þon þū neart nā wierðe mīne stefne tō ġehīerenne. Godes bebodu iċ wille ġehīeran and ġecȳðan. And þū, dēofol, ādumba nū, for þon þe iċ nylle nān word mā of þīnum mūðe ġehīeran."

     The holy virgin answered him and said, "I’m not allowed to tell you, because you don't deserve to hear my voice. God's commandments are what I want to hear and impart. And you, demon, be quiet now, because I don't want to hear one more word out of your mouth."

2. further
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Nū ðū þæt swā openlīce onġiten hæfst, ne þearfe ic nū nauht swīþe ymbe þ swincan þæt ic þē mā be gode recce.

     Since thou hast so clearly understood this, I need not now greatly labour in order that I may instruct thee further concerning good;...

3. instead, rather

Adjective

mā (indeclinable)

1. more (often + genitive)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"

     Þā ġecwæð sē abbod and ealle þā ġebrōðra þæt þēr ne mihte nā mā muneca wunian...

     Then said the abbot and all the brothers, that no more monks could dwell there...

Etymology

From Latin meam.

Determiner

ma f (masculine mon, plural mes)

1. my (first-person singular possessive)

Pronoun

ma

1. one

Conjunction

ma

1. Alternative spelling of má

Noun

ma

1. snow

References

• Omaha Ponca digital dictionary

Noun

ma

1. water

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Noun

ma

1. water

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Etymology

From Sanskrit म (ma, “1sg (base of oblique cases)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

Pronoun

ma (personal, Perso-Arabic spelling مہ)

1. I (1sg nom, subject), me (1sg direct object)

References

• Henrik Liljegren, Naseem Haider (2011) “ma”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎, Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “ma”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /maː/

Particle

mā

1. Subjunctive marker

   Nechilwijket ma nikinkwepili musta

   They told me to return it to them tomorrow

   Tikajkawat ma seseya pal tikwat

   We leave it to cool down so we can eat it

2. Clipping of maka. (Negative imperative marker)

   Ma shina kiuni!

   Don't say that!

Verb

-má

1. Clipping of -maka.

Adverb

ma

1. away

Conjunction

ma

1. if

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ma

Etymology 1

Etymology 2

Further reading

• ma in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɐ/

Contraction

ma

1. Contraction of me a (“her/it to me”).

Etymology

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Ashokan Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Sanskrit मा (mā).

Particle

ma

1. don't (prohibitive particle)

References

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “māˊ”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 574
• Boretzky, Norbert, Igla, Birgit (1994) “ma¹”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 172a
• Marcel Courthiade (2009) “ma (and-e rokhimàta)”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 231a

Adverb

ma

1. Obsolete form of mai.

References

• ma in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

Conjunction

ma

1. and

Etymology

Cognate with Maori me and Hawaiian me.

Conjunction

ma

1. and
2. because

Preposition

ma

1. with

Etymology

From Sanskrit मया (mayā) or another form of अहम् (aham, “I”).

Pronoun

ma

1. I; first-person singular personal pronoun

References

• Knobloch, Nina (2020) A grammar sketch of Sauji: An Indo-Aryan language of Afghanistan‎, Stockholm: Stockholm University

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/, /mə/

Determiner

ma

1. Alternative form of my

References

• “my, poss. adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

Etymology

From Old Irish má, from Proto-Celtic *mā, *ma (compare Cornish and Breton mar), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂.

Conjunction

ma

1. if

   Ma tha thu ’g iarrraidh sin… ― If you want that…

   Ma bhios tu…/Ma bhitheas tu… ― If you will be…/If you are… (habitual)

Etymology

From Italian ma, reinforced by Ancient Greek μά (má); both ultimately from Latin magis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mâ/
• Hyphenation: m‧a

Interjection

mȁ (Cyrillic spelling ма̏)

1. bah, whatever
2. Placed at the beginning of a sentence to add intensity and surprise

   Ma kako?! ― How?!

   Ma gdje? ― Where in the world...?

   Ma da? ― Really?

   Ma to je on! ― That's definitely him!

3. Placed at the beginning of a sentence to express dismissal and indignation

   Ma ne. ― No way.

   Ma daj. ― Oh come on.

   Ma kakvi. ― Impossible.

4. Used to emphasize sarcasm

   Ma da!/Ma svakako!/Ma naravno! ― Yeah, sure.

   Ma nemoj. ― Oh you don't say?

   Ma nikad niste vi krivi. ― Of course it can never be your fault.

Etymology

Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma.

Particle

ma

1. not, no; negative particle

Further reading

• M. Prins, A Grammar of rGyalrong, Jiǎomùzú (Kyom-kyo) Dialects: A Web of Relations (2016) (and earlier A Web of Relations: A Grammar of rGyalrong, Jiǎomùzú (Kyom-kyo) Dialects, 2011)

Alternative forms

• mňa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma]

Pronoun

ma

1. genitive/accusative of ja

Noun

ma f (plural mas)

1. (Latin America) mum; mom

Further reading

• “ma”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Romanization

ma

1. Romanization of 𒈠 (ma)

Noun

mà

1. water

References

• 1999, Michael Bryant, Aspects of Tirmaga Grammar (in notes, as ma)
• Michael Bryant, A Brief Grammar of the Suri Language (2011) (as mà)

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

Verb

-́ma

1. to stand
2. to stop, to wait

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ma/ [mɐ]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ma

Etymology 1

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜋ (ma).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Further reading

• “ma”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

• am

Conjunction

ma

1. and

Preposition

ma

1. with

Noun

ma

1. Alternative form of ma'a

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Etymology

Cognate with Persian ماه (mâh).

Noun

ma

1. moon

Pronunciation

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [maː˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [maː˦˥]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“dog”). Cognate with Thai หมา (mǎa), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨾᩣ, Lao ໝາ (mā), Tai Dam ꪢꪱ, Lü ᦖᦱ (ṁaa), Shan မႃ (mǎa), Tai Nüa ᥛᥣᥴ (máa), Aiton မႃ (mā), Ahom 𑜉𑜠 (ma), Zhuang ma, Saek หม่า.

Etymology 2

From Vietnamese ma.

Etymology

From Proto-Vanikoro *ma, from Proto-Oceanic *lima, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *lima, from Proto-Austronesian *lima.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

Noun

ma

1. arm
2. hand

References

• François, Alexandre. 2021. Teanu dictionary (Solomon Islands). Dictionaria 15. 1-1877. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.5653063. – entry ma.
• François, Alexandre. 2021. Online Teanu–English dictionary, with equivalents in Lovono and Tanema. Electronic files. Paris: CNRS. – entry ma.
• Lackey, W.J.. & Boerger, B.H. (2021) “Reexamining the Phonological History of Oceanic's Temotu subgroup”, in Oceanic Linguistics.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ma/

Conjunction

ma

1. relative clause introducer; which, that

   Synonym: yang

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Noun

ma

1. (Toaripi, Kaipi, Sepoe) water

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma]
• Hyphenation: ma

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *ma. Cognates include Maori mā and Samoan ma.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *ma.

Etymology 3

References

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎, Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 198

Adverb

ma

1. not

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *maa, from Proto-Uralic *mëxe.

Noun

ma

1. earth
2. ground
3. soil
4. land, country, region
5. state

References

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “грунт, держава, земля, почва, свет, страна”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎, Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 魔.

The modern Vietnamese usage of ma (“ghost”) and quỷ (“demon; ogre”) is contrary to that of Mandarin 魔 (mó, “demon”) and 鬼 (guǐ, “ghost”). This can be exemplified in the pair ma đói vs. 餓鬼 / 饿鬼 (ngạ quỷ, “preta”).