оба

See also: Appendix:Variations of "oba"

Bulgarian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oba.

Numeral

о́ба • (óba) m pl (feminine о́бе)

1. (dated, poetic) both

   на обата бряга ― na obata brjaga ― on the both banks [of a river/stream]

   нека оба да ... ― neka oba da ... ― let us both ...

References

• “оба”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “оба”, in Старобългарски речник [Dictionary of Old Bulgarian] (in Bulgarian), https://histdict.uni-sofia.bg, 2011—2026

Kazakh

Alternative scripts

Arabic	وبا
Cyrillic	оба
Latin	oba

Etymology 1

Noun

оба • (oba)

1. mound

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Classical Persian وبا (wabā), from Arabic وَبَاء (wabāʔ).

Noun

оба • (oba)

1. plague

Etymology 3

Noun

оба • (oba)

1. (dialectal, Pavlodar) hill, hillock

Old East Slavic

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oba, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *abōˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *Ho-bʰoh₁.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔbɑ/→/ˈɔba/→/ˈɔba/

• (ca. 9^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈɔbɑ/
• (ca. 11^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈɔba/
• (ca. 13^th CE) IPA^(key): /ˈɔba/

Pronoun

оба (oba)

1. both
   • 1076, Izbornik of 1076:

     Оц҃а и мужѧ посрамить дьрзаꙗ · и отъ обою прииметь бещьстиѥ

     Oc:a i mužę posramitĭ dĭrzaja · i otŭ oboju priimetĭ beščĭstije

     The daring one will shame father and husband, and from both will have disgrace.

Declension

Declension of оба (irregular)

	Singular			Dual			Plural
	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine	Masculine	Neuter	Feminine
Nominative	— —	— —	— —	оба oba	обѣ obě		— —	— —	— —
Genitive	— —		— —	обою oboju		обою oboju	— —		— —
Dative	— —		— —	обѣма oběma		обѣма oběma	— —		— —
Accusative	— —	— —	— —	оба oba	обѣ obě		— —	— —	— —
Instrumental	— —		— —	обѣма oběma		обѣма oběma	— —		— —
Locative	— —		— —	обою oboju		обою oboju	— —		— —

Descendants

• Old Ruthenian: о́ба (óba)
  • Belarusian: во́ба (vóba) (dialectal)
  • Carpathian Rusyn: о́ба (óba)
  • Ukrainian: оба́ (obá) (dialectal)
• Russian: о́ба (óba)

References

• Zaliznjak, Andrej A. (2019), “Drevnerusskoje udarenije: Obščije svedenija i slovarʹ.”, in Languages of Slavic Culture‎^[1] (in Russian), Moscow: Institute for Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, page 162: “о́ба ― óba”

Russian

Etymology

Inherited from Old East Slavic оба (oba), from Proto-Slavic *oba, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰóh₁, whence also Lithuanian abù, Latvian abi, Latin ambo, Ancient Greek ἄμφω (ámphō).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈobə]

• Audio:

  (file)

Numeral

о́ба • (óba) m pl or n pl (feminine о́бе)

1. both
   • 1869, Лев Толстой [Leo Tolstoy], “Том 2, Часть пятая, IX”, in Война и мир; English translation from Aylmer and Louise Maude, transl., War and Peace, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1922–1923:

     — Как похо́жи брат с сестро́й! — сказа́л граф. — И как хороши́ о́ба!

     — Kak poxóži brat s sestrój! — skazál graf. — I kak xoroší óba!

     “How like the brother is to the sister,” remarked the count. “And how handsome they both are!”

Usage notes

• The usage pattern is the same as that found with два (dva):
  • о́ба (óba) and о́бе (óbe) in the nominative or (if inanimate) accusative case govern the genitive singular of the noun. While the noun in a nominative construction is in the genitive singular following о́ба (óba) or о́бе (óbe), an intervening adjective will be in the genitive plural (if masculine or neuter) or nominative plural (if feminine):
    • о́ба бе́лых стола́ ― óba bélyx stolá ― both white tables
    • о́ба но́вых окна́ ― óba nóvyx okná ― both new windows
    • о́бе америка́нские семьи́ ― óbe amerikánskije semʹí ― both American families (Note difference in stress from nominative plural, се́мьи.)
  • However, when о́ба (óba) is used in the nominative case for masculine or neuter nouns, it is also permissible and indeed common to use nominative plural adjectives. Either variation may be used.
    • о́ба э́ти подхо́да ― óba éti podxóda ― both these approaches
    • о́ба э́тих подхо́да ― óba étix podxóda ― both these approaches
  • In all other cases (including animate accusative), о́ба (óba) or о́бе (óbe), the noun, and any intervening adjective are in the plural and agree in case:
    • обо́их испа́нских мужчи́н ― obóix ispánskix mužčín ― both Spanish men (Animate accusative.)
    • с обо́ими ру́сскими солда́тами ― s obóimi rússkimi soldátami ― with both Russian soldiers
    • об обе́их англи́йских кни́гах ― ob obéix anglíjskix knígax ― about both English books
• The masculine genitive singular form обо́его (obójevo) is an anomaly that sees only limited use:
  • обо́его по́ла ― obójevo póla ― of both sexes

Declension

Declension of о́ба

		masculine	neuter	feminine	m./n. plural	f. plural
nominative		-	-	-	о́ба óba	о́бе óbe
genitive		обо́его obójevo		-	обо́их obóix	обе́их obéix
dative		-		-	обо́им obóim	обе́им obéim
accusative	animate	-	-	-	обо́их obóix	обе́их obéix
	inanimate	-			о́ба óba	о́бе óbe
instrumental		-		-	обо́ими obóimi	обе́ими obéimi
prepositional		-		-	обо́их obóix	обе́их obéix

Pre-reform declension of о́ба

		masculine	neuter	feminine	m./n. plural	f. plural
nominative		-	обо́е* obóje*	-	о́ба óba	о́бѣ óbě
genitive		обо́его obójevo		обо́ея* obójeja*	обо́ихъ obóix	обѣ́ихъ obě́ix
dative		обо́ему* obójemu*		обо́ей* obójej*	обо́имъ obóim	обѣ́имъ obě́im
accusative	animate	обо́его* obójevo*	обо́е* obóje*	-	обо́ихъ obóix	обѣ́ихъ obě́ix
	inanimate	-			о́ба óba	о́бѣ óbě
instrumental		обо́имъ* obóim*		обо́ей* obójej*	обо́ими obóimi	обѣ́ими obě́imi
prepositional		обо́емъ* obójem*		обо́ей* obójej*	обо́ихъ obóix	обѣ́ихъ obě́ix

^* Obsolete.

Derived terms

• обою́дный (obojúdnyj)

Related terms

• оба́два (obádva)

Descendants

• ⇒ Kamassian: обәлар (obəlar)

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ôba/
• Hyphenation: о‧ба

Numeral

о̏ба (Latin spelling ȍba)

1. both (for masculine and neuter pairs)

   Synonym: ȍbadvā

Declension

Declension of оба

	m & n	f *
nominative	о̏ба	о̏бје, о̏бе
genitive	оба̀јӯ	обѝјӯ, обèјӯ
dative	оба̀ма	објѐма, обѐма
accusative	о̏ба	о̏бје, о̏бе
vocative	о̏ба	о̏бje, о̏бe
locative	оба̀ма	објѐма, обѐма
instrumental	оба̀ма	објѐма, обѐма

* Feminine forms listed in Ijekavian and Ekavian pairs.

Related terms

• о̏бје/о̏бе (for feminine pairs)

Ukrainian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *oba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɔˈba]

Numeral

оба́ • (obá) m pl or n pl (feminine обі́)

1. (dated or dialectal) both

   Synonym: оби́два (obýdva) (more common)

Declension

Declension of оба́

		plural
		masculine/neuter	feminine
nominative		оба́ obá	обі́ obí
genitive		обо́х obóx
dative		обо́м obóm
accusative	animate	обо́х obóx
	inanimate	оба́ obá	обі́ obí
instrumental		обома́ obomá
locative		обо́х obóx
vocative		оба́ obá	обі́ obí

Further reading

• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “оба”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• Shyrokov, V. A., editor (2019), “оба”, in Словник української мови: у 20 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 20 vols] (in Ukrainian), volumes 10 (на́ступ – о́бміль), Kyiv: Ukrainian Lingua-Information Fund, →ISBN
• “оба”, in Горох – Словозміна [Horox – Slovozmina, Horokh – Inflection]‎^[2]
• “оби́два”, in Kyiv Dictionary (in English)