ajar

See also: Ajar

English

WOTD – 9 December 2015

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈd͡ʒɑː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈd͡ʒɑɹ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English ajar, on char (“on [the] turn”), from on (“on”) + char (“turn, occasion”), from Old English ċierr, cyrr (“turn”), from Old English ċierran (“to turn, convert”), equivalent to a- +‎ char. Akin to Dutch akerre, kier (“ajar”), German kehren (“to turn”). See char.

Adverb

ajar (not comparable)

1. Slightly turned or opened.

   The door was standing ajar.

Translations

slightly turned or opened

• Bulgarian: открехнат (bg) (otkrehnat)
• Danish: på klem, klem
• Dutch: op een kier
• Finnish: raollaan (fi)
• French: entrouvert (fr), entrebâillé (fr)
• Icelandic: í hálfa gátt
• Italian: socchiuso (it)

• Japanese: 少し開いて (すこしあいて, sukoshi aite)
• Mandarin: 虚掩地 (xūyăn de), 半开地 (bànkāi de)
• Occitan: entredobèrt, entrebadat
• Portuguese: entreaberto (pt)
• Russian: (adjective) приоткры́тый (ru) (priotkrýtyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: odškrinut (sh)
• Spanish: entreabierto (es), entornado (es)

Adjective

ajar (comparative more ajar, superlative most ajar)

1. Slightly turned or opened.

   The door is ajar.

Translations

slightly turned or opened

• Bulgarian: открехнат (bg) (otkrehnat)
• Czech: pootevřený (cs)
• Danish: på klem
• Dutch: op een kier
• Finnish: raollaan (fi)
• French: entrebâillé (fr), entrouvert (fr)
• German: angelehnt (de)
• Icelandic: opinn til hálfs; opinn í hálfa gátt
• Mandarin: 虚掩的 (xūyăn de), 半开的 (bànkāi de)
• Norwegian: på gløtt

• Persian: نیمه‌باز‎‎ (nime-bâz)
• Portuguese: entreaberto (pt)
• Russian: приоткры́тый (ru) (priotkrýtyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: odškrinuto (sh)

  Cyrillic: одшкринут m

  Roman: odškrinut (sh) m

• Slovak: pootvorený, odchýlený
• Spanish: entreabierto (es), entornado (es)
• Swedish: på glänt (sv)

Verb

ajar (third-person singular simple present ajars, present participle ajarring, simple past and past participle ajarred)

1. (rare, perhaps nonstandard) To turn or open slightly; to become ajar or to cause to become ajar; to be or to hang ajar.
   • 1970, John H. Evans, Mercer County law journal, Volume 10,

     A plainclothes detective knocked on a slightly ajarred door.

   • 1977, Bill Reed, Dogod,

     Yes, and the door also lops off stairs leading to a landing on whose landing is another door on whose hinges much of this story ajars, if it hasn't jarred too much already.

   • 2007, Loki, Shard of the Ancient,

     Just as the gates fully ajarred themselves, the Lamborghini soared through them, and out into the freedom of the poorly defined road.

Etymology 2

a- (“in, at”) +‎ jar (“discord, disagreement”)

Adverb

ajar (not comparable)

1. (archaic) Out of harmony.
2. Being at variance or in contradiction to something.
   • 1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.14:

     There is a sort of unexpressed concern, / A kind of shock that sets one's heart ajar [...].

Translations

Being at variance or in contradiction to something

• Icelandic: úr samræmi, í ósamræmi, úr takti

Verb

ajar (third-person singular simple present ajars, present participle ajarring, simple past and past participle ajarred)

1. (rare, perhaps nonstandard) To show variance or contradiction with something; to be or cause to be askew.
   • 1907, The English Illustrated Magazine, Volume 36,

     It clean deafened the two of us, and set all the crockery ware ajarring ; and when the neighbours heard it they came running into the street to see who was getting hurt.

Translations

To show variance

Anagrams

• raja

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Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.dʒar/

Verb

ajar (used in the form mengajar)

1. to teach

Derived terms

Derived terms

• belajar to learn, to study
• pelajaran lesson

• pelajar student, pupil
• pengajar teacher

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Malay

Etymology

From Sanskrit आचार्य (ācārya, “teacher, master”).

Verb

ajar (used in the form mengajar)

1. to teach

Derived terms

Affixed and other derivations

Affixed derivations:

• pengajar (“teacher”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure] (peN-)
• pengajaran (“lesson, moral of story”) [agentive / qualitative / instrumental / abstract / measure + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peN- + -an)
• ajaran (“teachings”) [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• ajar-ajar (“ascetics”) [reduplication] (redup)
• pelajar (“student”) [causative passive] (peR-)
• pelajaran (“subject, education”) [causative passive + resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (peR- + -an)
• ajarkan [causative benefactive] (-kan)
• ajari [causative (locative) benefactive] (-i)
• mengajar (“to teach”) [agent focus] (meN-)
• diajar (“being taught (intr.)”) [patient focus] (di-)
• diajarkan (“being taught (tr.)”) [patient focus + causative benefactive] (di- + -kan)
• terajar (“taught (accidentally)”) [agentless action] (teR-)
• belajar (“to learn”) [stative / habitual] (beR-)

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• ahajar (obsolete)

Etymology

From older ahajar, from Old Spanish haja.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈxaɾ/

Verb

ajar (first-person singular present ajo, first-person singular preterite ajé, past participle ajado)

1. (transitive and reflexive) to fade, wither

Conjugation

    Conjugation of ajar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)^{edit data}

infinitive			ajar
gerund			ajando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		ajado		ajada
		plural		ajados		ajadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	ajo	ajastú ajásvos	aja	ajamos	ajáis	ajan
	imperfect	ajaba	ajabas	ajaba	ajábamos	ajabais	ajaban
	preterite	ajé	ajaste	ajó	ajamos	ajasteis	ajaron
	future	ajaré	ajarás	ajará	ajaremos	ajaréis	ajarán
	conditional	ajaría	ajarías	ajaría	ajaríamos	ajaríais	ajarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	aje	ajestú ajésvos2	aje	ajemos	ajéis	ajen
	imperfect (ra)	ajara	ajaras	ajara	ajáramos	ajarais	ajaran
	imperfect (se)	ajase	ajases	ajase	ajásemos	ajaseis	ajasen
	future1	ajare	ajares	ajare	ajáremos	ajareis	ajaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		ajatú ajávos	aje	ajemos	ajad	ajen
	negative		no ajes	no aje	no ajemos	no ajéis	no ajen

• ¹ Mostly obsolete form, now mainly used in legal jargon.
• ² Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of ajar^{edit data}

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive ajar
	dative	ajarme	ajarte	ajarle, ajarse	ajarnos	ajaros	ajarles, ajarse
	accusative	ajarme	ajarte	ajarlo, ajarla, ajarse	ajarnos	ajaros	ajarlos, ajarlas, ajarse
with gerund ajando
	dative	ajándome	ajándote	ajándole, ajándose	ajándonos	ajándoos	ajándoles, ajándose
	accusative	ajándome	ajándote	ajándolo, ajándola, ajándose	ajándonos	ajándoos	ajándolos, ajándolas, ajándose
with informal second-person singular imperative aja
	dative	ájame	ájate	ájale	ájanos	not used	ájales
	accusative	ájame	ájate	ájalo, ájala	ájanos	not used	ájalos, ájalas
with formal second-person singular imperative aje
	dative	ájeme	not used	ájele, ájese	ájenos	not used	ájeles
	accusative	ájeme	not used	ájelo, ájela, ájese	ájenos	not used	ájelos, ájelas
with first-person plural imperative ajemos
	dative	not used	ajémoste	ajémosle	ajémonos	ajémoos	ajémosles
	accusative	not used	ajémoste	ajémoslo, ajémosla	ajémonos	ajémoos	ajémoslos, ajémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative ajad
	dative	ajadme	not used	ajadle	ajadnos	ajaos	ajadles
	accusative	ajadme	not used	ajadlo, ajadla	ajadnos	ajaos	ajadlos, ajadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative ajen
	dative	ájenme	not used	ájenle	ájennos	not used	ájenles, ájense
	accusative	ájenme	not used	ájenlo, ájenla	ájennos	not used	ájenlos, ájenlas, ájense

Further reading

• “ajar” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.