मा

See also: माँ, मां, मैं, म, में, मी, and मा़

Garhwali

Verb

मा (mā) (transitive)

1. have

   मेमा यअक किताब न्ही च।

   memā yaak kitāb nhī ca.

   I don't have a book.

Nepali

Etymology

Ultimately from Sanskrit मध्य (madhya), cognate with Hindi में (mẽ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mä]
• Phonetic Devanagari: मा

Postposition

मा • (mā)

1. in, at, on

Newar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma]

Noun

मा • (mā) ? (Newa Spelling 𑐩𑐵)

1. plant

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• মা (Assamese script)
• ᬫᬵ (Balinese script)
• মা (Bengali script)
• 𑰦𑰯 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀫𑀸 (Brahmi script)
• မာ (Burmese script)
• મા (Gujarati script)
• ਮਾ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌮𑌾 (Grantha script)
• ꦩꦴ (Javanese script)
• 𑂧𑂰 (Kaithi script)
• ಮಾ (Kannada script)
• មា (Khmer script)
• ມາ (Lao script)
• മാ (Malayalam script)
• ᠮᠠᢇ (Manchu script)
• 𑘦𑘰 (Modi script)
• ᠮᠠ᠋᠎ᠠ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧆𑧑 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐩𑐵 (Newa script)
• ମା (Odia script)
• ꢪꢵ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆩𑆳 (Sharada script)
• 𑖦𑖯 (Siddham script)
• මා (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩴𑩛 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚢𑚭 (Takri script)
• மா (Tamil script)
• మా (Telugu script)
• มา (Thai script)
• མཱ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒧𑒰 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨢𑨊 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɑ́ː/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /mɑː/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *máH, from Proto-Indo-European *méh₁ (prohibitive particle). Cognate with Albanian mo (“do not”), Ancient Greek μή (mḗ, “not, do not”), Old Armenian մի (mi, “no, not”), Avestan 𐬨𐬁 (mā), Old Persian 𐎶𐎠 (m-a /⁠mā⁠/) (whence Persian مـ (ma-)).

Particle

मा • (mā́)

1. don't (prohibitive particle)
   • c. 1500 BCE – 1000 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.5.10:

     मा नो॒ मर्ता॑ अ॒भि द्रु॑हन्।
     त॒नूना॑मिंद्र गिर्वणः।
     ईशा॑नो यवया व॒धम्॥

     mā́ no mártā abhí druhan
     tanū́nām indra girvaṇaḥ
     ī́śāno yavayā vadhám

     O Indra, thou who lovest song,
     do not let any man hurt our bodies.
     Keep slaughter far from us for thou canst.

Derived terms

• माकिम् (mākim)
• माकिस् (mākis)

Descendants

Terms inherited from मा (mā́)

• Ashokan Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸 (mā)
  • Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸 (mā)
    • Apabhramsa: म (ma) (see there for further descendants)
  • ⇒ Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸𑀇𑀅 (māia), 𑀫𑀸𑀇 (māi), 𑀫𑀇𑀅 (maïa)
  • ⇒ Prakrit: 𑀫𑀁𑀢 (maṃta)
    • Gurjara Apabhramsa:
      • Gujarati: મત (mat)
    • Takka Apabhramsa:
      • Old Punjabi: ਮਤ (mata), ਮਤਿ (mati), ਮਤੁ (matu)
        • Punjabi: mat

          Gurmukhi script: ਮਤ

          Shahmukhi script: مَت

    • Vracada Apabhramsa:
      • Sindhi:

        Arabic script: مَتان (matā̃), مَتَڻ (mataṇ), مَتُڻِ (matuṇi)

        Devanagari script: मतां, मतण, मतुणि

    • Sauraseni Prakrit:
      • Sauraseni Apabhramsa:
        • Hindustani: mat

          Hindi: मत

          Urdu: مَت (mat)

• Dardic:
  • Kalasha: mo
  • Kashmiri: مَہ (mah)
• Gandhari: 𐨨 (ma)
• Pali: mā

Further reading

• Monier Williams (1899), “मा”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 804, column 1.
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “mā́”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 574

Etymology 2

From the oblique stem of Proto-Indo-European *éǵh₂. Cognate with Ancient Greek με (me), ἐμέ (emé), Latin mē, Old English me.

Pronoun

मा • (mā)

1. (enclitic) accusative singular of अहम् (ahám)

   Synonym: माम् (mā́m)

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeic; compare मय (máya, “horse”) and मयु (mayú, “monkey”), which are probably connected to the root, as well as similar formations throughout Indo-European such as Ancient Greek μῐνῠρῐ́ζω (mĭnŭrĭ́zō, “to whimper, warble”).

Root

मा • (mā)

1. to sound, bellow, bleat

Derived terms

Primary Verbal Forms

• मिमाति (mímāti) (Present)
• मिमाय (mimā́ya) (Perfect)

Non-Finite Forms

• मातवै (mātavai) (Infinitive)

Derived Nominal Forms

• मायु (māyú)

Further reading

• Monier Williams (1899), “मा”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 804, column 2.
• William Dwight Whitney (1885), “3 mā, 'bellow'”, in The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 119

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Indo-Aryan *maH-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *maH-, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”).

Root

मा • (mā)

1. to measure

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms belonging to the root मा (0 c, 9 e)

Terms derived from the Sanskrit root मा (6 c, 0 e)

Primary Verbal Forms

• मिमीते (mímīte) (Present)
• माति (mā́ti) (Present)
• मायते (māyate) (Present)
• मास्यति (māsyáti) (Future)
• माता (mātā́) (Periphrastic Future)
• अमासि (ámāsi) (Aorist)
• अमासीत् (ámāsīt) (Aorist)
• ममौ (mamáu) (Perfect)
• ममे (mamé) (Perfect)

Secondary Forms

• मीयते (mīyáte) (Passive)
• अमायि (ámāyi) (Passive Aorist)
• मापयति (māpáyati) (Causative)
• अमीमपत् (ámīmapat) (Causative Aorist)
• मित्सति (mitsati) (Desiderative)
• मेमीयते (memīyate) (Intensive)
• मामाति (māmāti) (Intensive)

Non-Finite Forms

• मित (mitá) (Past Participle)
• मातुम् (mātum) (Infinitive)
• मितुम् (mitum) (Infinitive)
• मामे (māme) (Infinitive)
• मामै (māmái) (Infinitive)
• मित्वा (mitvā́) (Gerund)
• मीत्वा (mītvā́) (Gerund)
• माय (mā́ya) (Gerundive)
• मातव्य (mātavyá) (Gerundive)

Derived Nominal Forms

• मा (mā́)
• मान (mā́na)
• मिति (miti)
• मातृ (mā́tṛ)
• मात्रा (mā́trā)
• माया (māyā́)
• मायु (māyú)
• मास् (mā́s)
• मास (māsa)
• मस् (mas)
• मेय (méya)
• मित्सा (mitsā)
• मापक (māpaka)
• माप्य (māpya)
• मापन (māpana)
• अवमाय (avamāya)

Prefixed Root Forms

• प्रतिमा (pratimā)
• अनुमा (anumā)
• उपमा (upamā)
• निमा (nimā)
• संमा (saṃmā)

Noun

मा • (mā́) stem, f (root मा)

1. measure
2. authority
3. light
4. knowledge
5. binding, fettering
6. death

Declension

Feminine ā-stem declension of मा

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	माः (mā́ḥ)	मौ (máu) मा¹ (mā́¹)	माः (mā́ḥ)
accusative	माम् (mā́m)	मौ (máu) मा¹ (mā́¹)	माः (mā́ḥ) मः² (máḥ²)
instrumental	मा (mā́)	माभ्याम् (mā́bhyām)	माभिः (mā́bhiḥ)
dative	मे (mé)	माभ्याम् (mā́bhyām)	माभ्यः (mā́bhyaḥ)
ablative	मः (máḥ)	माभ्याम् (mā́bhyām)	माभ्यः (mā́bhyaḥ)
genitive	मः (máḥ)	मोः (móḥ)	मानाम् (mā́nām) माम्² (mā́m²)
locative	मि (mí)	मोः (móḥ)	मासु (mā́su)
vocative	माः (mā́ḥ)	मौ (máu) मा¹ (mā́¹)	माः (mā́ḥ)

• ¹Vedic
• ²Perhaps

Further reading

• Monier Williams (1899), “मा”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 804, column 2.
• William Dwight Whitney (1885), “1 mā, 'measure'”, in The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 119