was

See also wąs

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic *was, (identical to Low German was, cognate with German war), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”). The paradigm of "to be" has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to become”). The words is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”).

Pronunciation

stressed

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (UK) enPR: wŏz, IPA: /wɒz/, X-SAMPA: /wQz/
• (US) enPR: wŭz, IPA: /wʌz/, X-SAMPA: /wVz/, IPA: /wɑz/
• Rhymes: -ɒz

unstressed

• enPR: wəz, IPA: /wəz/, X-SAMPA: /w@z/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  (in the phrase "I was there")

Verb

was

1. First-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
2. Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
3. (proscribed, dialect) Second-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
   • 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Poison Belt

     "Was you outside the Bank of England, sir?"

Derived terms

• wasband
• wasbian

See also

am are is art be being been

beest wast were wert woz wuz

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: in · I · that · #8: was · he · his · with

Anagrams

• ASW
• saw, SAW

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Afrikaans

Noun

was (uncountable)

1. wax

Verb

was

1. Past tense of wees.

was (past participle gewas)

1. to wash

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Dutch

Wikipedia ^nl

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑs
• IPA: /ʋɑs/

Etymology 1

Cognate with English wash.

Noun

was m (plural wassen, diminutive wasje)

1. laundry, clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed.

Verb

was

1. first-person singular present indicative of wassen
2. imperative of wassen

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *was, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą. Cognate with German Wachs, English wax, Danish voks, Swedish vax.

Noun

was m, n (plural wassen)

1. wax
2. growth

Verb

was

1. first-person singular present indicative of wassen
2. imperative of wassen

Derived terms

• bijenwas
• gewas n
• uitwas
• uit de kluiten gewassen

Etymology 3

Cognate with English was.

Verb

was

1. singular past indicative of zijn
2. singular past indicative of wezen

Anagrams

• swa

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German

Etymology

From Old High German (h)waz, originally *(h)wat, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷos, *kʷod, compare Dutch wat, English what, Danish hvad.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vas/

• audio

  (file)

• Audio (Bavarian)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as

Pronoun

was

1. (interrogative) what

   Was machst du heute? – What are you doing today?

2. (relative) which, referring to whole sentences

   Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte. – She was a good dancer, which he admired.

3. (relative, colloquial) that, which, referring to neuter singulars (instead of standard das)

   Siehst du das Haus, was da renoviert wird? – Do you see that house which is being renovated over there?

4. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything (shortened from standard etwas)

   Ich weiß was Besseres! – I know something better!

Derived terms

• was für

Adverb

was

1. (colloquial) a little, somewhat

   Ich komm' was später. – I'll arrive a little later.

Variants

wat (dialectal, colloquial)

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Gothic

Romanization

was

1. See 𐍅𐌰𐍃

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Low German

Verb

was

1. was; first-person singular simple past tense indicative of węsen (to be).
2. was; Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of węsen (to be).
3. wash; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen; mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialekts' wasche/waske
4. wax; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen
5. grow; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen

Usage notes

Notes on the verb węsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the old Conjunctive wer is used in place of was by many speakers. This might be the old Conjunctive which is now used as a preterite or a reduction of weren, which is the Preterite Plural Indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognate war. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower-Saxony that use wer for was, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way"-nature of the situation no form can be named 'standard' for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.

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Mayangna

Noun

was

1. water

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA: [vas̪]

Pronoun

was

1. Genitive of wy.
2. Accusative of wy.
3. Locative of wy.

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Scots

Noun

was

1. Plural form of wa

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Tok Pisin

Etymology

English watch

Verb

was

1. angel; any supernatural creature in heaven according to Christian theology
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:24 (translation here):

     God i rausim pinis man na meri, na em i makim ol strongpela ensel bilong sanap na was i stap long hap sankamap bilong gaden Iden. Na tu em i putim wanpela bainat i gat paia i lait long en na i save tanim tanim long olgeta hap. Oltaim ol dispela ensel wantaim dispela bainat i save was i stap, nogut wanpela man i go klostu long dispela diwai bilong givim laip.

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.