English
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Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E . IPA (key ) : /ˈɑːn.sə/ , /ˈan.sə/
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E . IPA (key ) : /ˈæn.sɚ/
Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ae-tensing" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E . IPA (key ) : [ˈeən.sɚ]
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Hyphenation: an‧swer
Rhymes: -ɑːnsə(ɹ) , -ænsə(ɹ)
Etymology 1
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From Middle English answere , andsware , from Old English andswaru ( “ answer ” ) , from and- ( “ against ” ) + -swaru ( “ affirmation ” ) , (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- ( “ front,forehead ” ) and Old English swerian ( “ to swear ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *swer- ), suggesting an original meaning of "a sworn statement rebutting a charge." The cognates suggest the existence of Proto-Germanic *andswara- ( “ a reply to a question ” ) . Cognate with Old Frisian ondser ( “ answer ” ) , Old Saxon andswōr ( “ answer ” ) , Danish and Swedish ansvar ( “ liability, responsibility, answer ” ) , Icelandic andsvar ( “ answer, response ” ) . Compare also Old English andwyrde ( “ answer ” ) (cognate to Dutch antwoord , German Antwort ), Old English andcwiss ( “ reply ” ) , German Schwur ( “ oath, vow ” ) .
Noun
answer (plural answers )
A response or reply ; something said or done in reaction to a statement or question .
Her answer to his proposal was a slap in the face .
A solution to a problem.
There is no simple answer to corruption.
( law ) A document filed in response to a complaint , responding to each point raised in the complaint and raising counterpoints .
Derived terms
Translations
response
Afrikaans: antwoord (af)
Albanian: përgjigje (sq)
Amharic: መልስ ( mäls )
Arabic: رَدّ m ( radd ) , جَوَاب m ( jawāb ) , إِجَابَة f ( ʔijāba )
Aragonese: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: պատասխան (hy) ( patasxan )
Aromanian: apocrisi , apandisi , giuvapi f
Asturian: respuesta f
Azerbaijani: cavab (az)
Baluchi: جواب ( jawáb )
Bashkir: яуап ( yawap )
Basque: erantzun
Belarusian: адка́з m ( adkáz )
Bengali: উত্তর ( uttor )
Breton: respont (br) m -où
Bulgarian: о́тговор (bg) m ( ótgovor )
Burmese: အဖြေ (my) ( a.hpre )
Buryat: харюу ( xarjuu )
Catalan: resposta (ca) f
Chechen: жоп ( žop )
Cherokee: please add this translation if you can
Chichewa: yankho
Chinese:
Cantonese: 回答 ( wui4 dap3 ) , 對答 / 对答 ( deoi3 daap6 ) , 对答 ( deoi3 dap3 )
Dungan: хуэйда ( hueyda ) , җәвабу ( žəvabu )
Mandarin: 回答 (zh) ( huídá ) , 對答 / 对答 (zh) ( duìdá ) , 对答 (zh) ( duìdá )
Chukchi: татԓыӈ ( tatḷyṇ )
Cornish: gorthyp
Corsican: risposta (co) f
Crimean Tatar: cevap
Czech: odpověď (cs) f
Danish: svar (da) n
Dutch: antwoord (nl) n
Esperanto: respondo (eo)
Estonian: vastus
Faroese: svar n
Finnish: vastaus (fi)
French: réponse (fr) f
Friulian: please add this translation if you can
Gagauz: cuvap
Galician: resposta (gl) f
Georgian: პასუხი ( ṗasuxi )
German: Antwort (de) f
Greek: απάντηση (el) f ( apántisi ) , απόκριση (el) f ( apókrisi )
Ancient: ἀπόκρισις f ( apókrisis ) , ὑπόκρισις f ( hupókrisis )
Greenlandic: akissut
Gujarati: જવાબ ( javāb ) , ઉત્તર (gu) ( uttar )
Hawaiian: pane
Hebrew: תְּשׁוּבָה (he) f ( t'shuvá )
Hindi: जवाब (hi) m ( javāb ) , उत्तर (hi) m ( uttar )
Hungarian: válasz (hu) , felelet (hu)
Icelandic: svar (is) n , ans n
Ido: respondo (io)
Indonesian: jawaban (id)
Interlingue: Lua error in Module:translations at line 71 : Translations must be for attested and approved main-namespace languages.
Irish: freagra (ga) m
Italian: risposta (it) f
Japanese: 答え (ja) ( こたえ, kotae ) , 回答 (ja) ( かいとう, kaitō ) , 応答 (ja) ( おうとう, ōtō )
Kalmyk: хәрү ( xärü )
Karachay-Balkar: жауап ( jawap )
Kazakh: жауап (kk) ( jauap )
Khmer: ពាក្យឆ្លើយ ( piək chlaəy )
Korean: 대답 (ko) ( daedap ) , 회답 ( hoedap ) , 답 (ko) ( dap )
Koryak: аӈъягыйӈын ( aŋyagəyŋən )
Kumyk: жавап ( javap )
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Kurdish:
Kurmanji: Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ku" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E .
Sorani: Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ku" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E .
Kyrgyz: жооп (ky) ( joop )
Lao: ຄຳຕອບ ( kham tǭp )
Latin: responsum n
Latvian: atbilde f
Lithuanian: atsakymas (lt) m
Low German: Antwoort (nds) f
Luxembourgish: Äntwert (lb) f
Macedonian: одговор m ( odgovor )
Malay: jawaban , jawapan (ms)
Maltese: wieġeb m
Maori: please add this translation if you can
Mirandese: respuosta f
Mongolian: хариу (mn) ( xariu )
Nogai: явап ( yavap )
Northern Sami: vástádus
Norwegian: svar (no) n
Novial: please add this translation if you can
Occitan: responsa (oc) f
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: отъвѣтъ m ( otŭvětŭ )
Old English: andswaru f , andwyrde n
Old Norse: svar n
Pashto: جواب (ps) m ( ǰawãb ) , ځواب (ps) m ( jwāb )
Persian: جواب (fa) ( javâb ) , پاسخ (fa) ( pâsox ) , پیواژ ( peyvâž ) ( archaic )
Polish: odpowiedź (pl) f
Portuguese: resposta (pt) f
Romanian: răspuns (ro) n
Russian: отве́т (ru) m ( otvét ) , о́тповедь (ru) f ( ótpovedʹ ) ( archaic or poetic )
Scottish Gaelic: freagairt f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: о̏дгово̄р m
Roman: ȍdgovōr (sh) m
Sicilian: risposta (scn) f
Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: odpoveď f
Slovene: odgovor (sl) m
Southern Altai: каруу ( qaruu ) , јооп ( zhoop )
Spanish: respuesta (es) f
Swahili: jibu (sw) , jawabu (sw)
Swedish: svar (sv) n
Tagalog: sagot
Tajik: жавоб ( žavob )
Tamil: விடை (ta) ( viṭai )
Tatar: җавап (tt) ( cawap )
Telugu: జవాబు (te) ( javābu ) , సమాధానం (te) ( samādhānaṁ )
Thai: คำตอบ ( kam-dtɔ̀ɔp )
Turkish: yanıt (tr) , cevap (tr)
Turkmen: jogap (tk)
Tuvan: харыы ( xarıı )
Ukrainian: ві́дповідь (uk) f ( vídpovidʹ )
Urdu: جواب m ( javāb ) , اتر (ur) ( uttar )
Uyghur: جاۋاب ( jawab )
Uzbek: javob (uz)
Vietnamese: trả lời (vi) , câu trả lời
Volapük: please add this translation if you can
Walloon: please add this translation if you can
Waray-Waray: baton , tubag
Welsh: ateb (cy)
Yakut: эппиэт ( eppiet ) , харда ( qarda ) , хоруй ( qoruy )
Yiddish: ענטפֿער m ( entfer )
Zazaki: ciwab
solution
Arabic:
Gulf Arabic: حَلّ ( ḥəl, ḥəll )
Bulgarian: реше́ние (bg) n ( rešénie )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 解答 (zh) ( jiědá ) , 答案 (zh) ( dá'àn )
Danish: løsning (da) c , svar (da) n
Esperanto: repliko
Finnish: ratkaisu (fi) , vastaus (fi)
French: solution (fr) , réponse (fr)
German: Lösung (de) f
Greek: λύση (el) f ( lýsi )
Hebrew: מענה m ( ma'ane )
Hungarian: megoldás (hu)
Icelandic: svar (is) n
Ido: repliko (io) , solvo (io)
Indonesian: solusi (id)
Japanese: 解答 (ja) ( かいとう, kaitō )
Luxembourgish: Léisung f
Macedonian: решение n ( rešenie )
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Malay: penyelesaian
Norwegian: svar (no) n , løsning (no) m
Polish: odpowiedź (pl) f
Portuguese: resposta (pt) f
Romanian: rezolvare (ro) f , soluție (ro) f
Russian: реше́ние (ru) n ( rešénije ) , отве́т (ru) m ( otvét )
Scottish Gaelic: freagairt f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: рјеше́ње n , реше́ње n
Roman: rješénje (sh) n , rešénje (sh) n
Slovak: riešenie n , odpoveď f
Slovene: odgovor (sl) m , rešitev (sl) f
Spanish: respuesta (es) f
Swahili: jibu (sw)
Swedish: svar (sv) n
Tagalog: solusyon
Telugu: పరిష్కారం (te) ( pariṣkāraṁ )
reply to email
Arabic:
Gulf Arabic: رَدّ ( rəd, rədd )
Bulgarian: о́тговор (bg) m ( ótgovor )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 回答 (zh) ( huídá ) , 回復 / 回复 (zh) ( huífù ) , 回复 (zh) ( huífù ) , 回信 (zh) ( huíxìn )
Danish: svar (da) n
Finnish: vastaus (fi)
French: réponse (fr)
Greek: απάντηση (el) f ( apántisi ) , απόκριση (el) f ( apókrisi )
Hebrew: תשובה (he) f ( tshuva )
Hindi: जवाब देना ( javāb denā ) , उत्तर देना ( uttar denā )
Hungarian: válasz (hu)
Indonesian: balas (id)
Japanese: 返事 (ja) ( へんじ, henji ) , 返答 (ja) ( へんとう, hentō )
Kurdish:
Sorani: Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ku" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E .
Macedonian: о́дговор m ( ódgovor )
Norwegian: svar (no) n
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Polish: odpowiedź (pl) f
Portuguese: resposta (pt) f
Romanian: răspuns (ro) n
Russian: отве́т (ru) m ( otvét )
Scottish Gaelic: freagairt f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: о̏дгово̄р m
Roman: ȍdgovōr (sh) m
Slovak: odpoveď f
Slovene: odgovor (sl) m
Spanish: contestación (es) f
Swahili: jibu (sw)
Swedish: svar (sv) n
Tagalog: sagot
Telugu: జవాబు (te) ( javābu ) , సమాధానం (te) ( samādhānaṁ )
Vietnamese: (please verify ) tin trả lời
document filed in response to a complaint
See also
Etymology 2
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From Middle English answeren , andswaren , answerien , from Old English andswarian , answarien ( “ to answer, to respond, to deny an allegation under oath ” ) , from Proto-Germanic *andaswarōną , *andaswarjaną ( “ to answer, to give a response, to rebut ” ) , from *anda- ( “ against ” ) + *swarjaną , *swarōną ( “ to swear an oath, to answer, to respond ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *swer- ( “ to swear ” ) and *h₂ent- ( “ face, forehead ” ) , equivalent to and- ( “ against, back ” ) + swear . Cognate with Old Frisian ondswera ( “ to answer ” ) , Danish ansvare ( “ to answer, account for ” ) , Swedish ansvara ( “ to answer, account for ” ) , Icelandic andsvara ( “ to answer, reply ” ) .
Verb
answer (third-person singular simple present answers , present participle answering , simple past and past participle answered )
( transitive , intransitive ) To make a reply or response to.
1593 , William Shakespeare , Venus and Adonis ,[1]
She answers him as if she knew his mind:
1611 , King James Version of the Bible , 1 Kings 18:26,[2]
[ …] there was no voice, nor any that answered .
1898 , Winston Churchill , chapter 4, in The Celebrity :“Well,” I answered , at first with uncertainty, then with inspiration, “he would do splendidly to lead your cotillon, if you think of having one.” ¶ “So you do not dance, Mr. Crocker?” ¶ I was somewhat set back by her perspicuity.
He answered the question.
( transitive ) To speak in defence against; to reply to in defence.
to answer a charge or accusation
( transitive , intransitive ) To respond to a call by someone at a door or telephone, or other similar piece of equipment.
She answered the door.
Nobody answered when I knocked on the door.
( transitive , intransitive ) To suit a need or purpose satisfactorily.
1815 , Jane Austen , Emma , volume III, chapter 6:Mr. Knightley had done all in his power for Mr. Woodhouse’s entertainment. Books of engravings, drawers of medals, cameos, corals, shells, and every other family collection within his cabinets, had been prepared for his old friend, to while away the morning; and the kindness had perfectly answered .
1871 , Alexander J. Ellis , On Early English Pronunciation , London: Trübner & Co., Part III, Chapter 7, section 1, p. 656, footnote 1,[3]
Of course for publication in a newspaper, my palaeotype would not answer , but my glossotype would enable the author to give his Pennsylvania German in an English form and much more intelligibly.
1903 , Samuel Butler , chapter 41, in The Way of All Flesh :Theobald spoke as if watches had half-a-dozen purposes besides time-keeping, but he could hardly open his mouth without using one or other of his tags, and "answering every purpose" was one of them.
It answers the need.
To be accountable or responsible ; to make amends .
The man must answer to his employer for the money entrusted to his care.
He has a lot to answer for.
( law ) To file a document in response to a complaint .
To correspond to; to be in harmony with; to be in agreement with.
1775 , Richard Brinsley Sheridan , The Duenna , Dublin: G. Burnet et al. , 1794, Act II, Scene 2, p. 25,[5]
Egad, I wish she had answer’d her picture as well.
1793 , Bryan Edwards , The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies , Dublin: Luke White, Volume II, Book V, Chapter 2, p. 231,[6]
The use of dunder in the making of rum, answers the purpose of yeast in the fermentation of flour.
To be opposite, or to act in opposition.
1786 , William Gilpin , Observations, relative chiefly to picturesque beauty, made in the year 1772: on several parts of England; particularly the mountains, and lakes of Cumberland, and Westmoreland , London: R. Blamire, Volume II, Section 19, p. 85,[7]
The windows answering each other, we could just discern the glowing horizon through them [ …]
To be or act in conformity, or by way of accommodation, correspondence, relation, or proportion; to conform; to correspond; to suit; usually with to .
c. 1604 William Shakespeare , Measure for Measure , Act III, Scene 1,[8]
[ …] that the time may have all shadow and silence in it; and the place answer to convenience.
c. 1608 William Shakespeare , Pericles, Prince of Tyre , Act V, Scene 1,[9]
If this but answer to my just belief,
I’ll well remember you.
1611 , King James Version of the Bible , Proverbs 27:19,[10]
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
1727 , Jonathan Swift , Gulliver’s Travels , London: B. Motte, Part I, A Voyage to Lilliput, Chapter 2, pp. 30-31,[11]
[ …] I might carry about me several Weapons, which must needs be dangerous things, if they answered the Bulk of so prodigious a Person.
To respond to satisfactorily; to meet successfully by way of explanation, argument, or justification; to refute.
1611 , King James Version of the Bible , Matthew 22:46,[12]
[ …] no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.
1671 , John Milton , Samson Agonistes in Paradise Regain’d, to which is added Samson Agonistes , London: John Starkey, p. 73,[13]
These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant
Though by his blindness maim’d for high attempts,
Who now defies thee thrice to single fight,
1848 , Thomas Babington Macaulay , The History of England from the Accession of James the Second , Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1849, Volume 3, Chapter 14, p. 354,[14]
The reasoning was not and could not be answered .
To be or act in compliance with, in fulfillment or satisfaction of, as an order, obligation, or demand.
He answered my claim upon him.
The servant answered the bell.
c. 1597 William Shakespeare , Henry IV, Part 1 , Act I, Scene 3,[15]
[ …] this proud king [ …] studies day and night
To answer all the debts he owes unto you
1764 , John Nourse, Navigation Or, the Art of Sailing Upon the Sea , page 65 :The faster a ship sails, the better she will answer her helm; if she sail very slow, she will scarce steer at all. If she heel much, she won't answer the helm so well.
( obsolete ) To render account to or for.
( obsolete ) To atone for; to be punished for.
c. 1599 William Shakespeare , Julius Caesar , Act III, Scene 2,[17]
[ …] The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it.
( obsolete ) To be or act as an equivalent to, or as adequate or sufficient for; to serve for; to repay.
Derived terms
Translations
to make a reply or response to
Albanian: përgjigjem (sq)
Arabic: أَجَابَ ( ʔajāba ) , رَدَّ ( radda )
Egyptian Arabic: رد ( radd )
Armenian: պատասխանել (hy) ( patasxanel )
Aromanian: apãndisescu , apocrisescu
Asturian: responder , contestar
Azerbaijani: cavab vermək (az)
Basque: erantzun
Belarusian: адка́зваць impf ( adkázvacʹ ) , адказа́ць pf ( adkazácʹ )
Bengali: উত্তর দেত্তয়া ( uttor dettoẏa )
Bulgarian: отговарям (bg) ( otgovarjam ) , отвръщам (bg) ( otvrǎštam )
Burmese: ပြန်ကြား (my) ( prankra: ) , ဖြေ (my) ( hpre )
Catalan: respondre (ca)
Chichewa: -yankha
Chinese:
Mandarin: 回答 (zh) ( huídá ) , 答應 / 答应 (zh) ( dāyìng ) , 答应 (zh) ( dāying ) , 答覆 (zh) ( dáfù )
Cornish: gorthebi
Czech: odpovědět (cs) pf
Danish: svare (da)
Dutch: antwoorden (nl)
Esperanto: respondi (eo)
Estonian: vastama
Faroese: svara
Finnish: vastata (fi)
French: répondre (fr)
Friulian: rispuindi
Galician: responder (gl) , contestar (gl)
Georgian: პასუხობს ( ṗasuxobs )
German: antworten (de)
Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 ( andwaurdjan )
Greek: απαντώ (el) ( apantó ) , αποκρίνομαι (el) ( apokrínomai )
Ancient: ἀποκρίνομαι ( apokrínomai )
Hawaiian: pane
Hebrew: עָנָה (he) ( ana )
Hindi: जवाब देना ( javāb denā ) , उत्तर देना ( uttar denā )
Hungarian: válaszol (hu)
Icelandic: svara (is) , ansa (is)
Ido: respondar (io)
Indonesian: menjawab (id)
Interlingua: responder
Interlingue: Lua error in Module:translations at line 71 : Translations must be for attested and approved main-namespace languages.
Irish: freagair
Italian: rispondere (it)
Japanese: 答える (ja) ( こたえる, kotaeru ) , 返事する (ja) ( へんじする, henji suru )
Kazakh: жауап беру (kk) ( jauap beru )
Khmer: ឆ្លើយ (km) ( chlaəy )
Korean: 대답하다 (ko) ( daedaphada ) , 답하다 (ko) ( daphada )
Kurdish:
Sorani: Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290 : Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "ku" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E .
(deprecated template usage ) {{trans-mid }}
Kyrgyz: жооп берүү (ky) ( joop berüü )
Ladin: respuender
Laboya: baleha
Lao: ຕອບ ( tǭp )
Latin: respondeō , resequor , referō (la)
Latvian: atbildēt
Lithuanian: atsakyti (lt)
Luxembourgish: äntweren
Macedonian: одговара ( odgovara )
Malay: jawab
Mongolian: хариулах (mn) ( xariulax )
Nahuatl: nanquilia
Neapolitan: risponne
Norwegian: svare (no) , svar (no) f
Occitan: respónder , respondre (oc)
Old English: andswarian , andwyrdan
Old Norse: svara
Persian: پاسخ دادن (fa) ( pâsox dâdan ) , جواب دادن (fa) ( javâb dâdan )
Polish: odpowiedzieć (pl) pf
Portuguese: responder (pt)
Quechua: kutichiy
Romanian: răspunde (ro)
Romansch: respunder , raspunder , respuonder , rispunder
Russian: отвеча́ть (ru) impf ( otvečátʹ ) , отве́тить (ru) pf ( otvétitʹ )
Sardinian: respúndiri , arraspundi , rispòndhere , rispònnere
Scottish Gaelic: freagair
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: одгово́рити pf
Roman: odgovóriti (sh) pf
Slovak: odpovedať impf , reagovať
Slovene: odgovoriti (sl) pf
Spanish: responder (es) , contestar (es)
Swahili: -jibu (sw)
Swedish: svara (sv)
Tajik: ҷавоб додан (tg) ( javob dodan )
Thai: ตอบ (th) ( dtɔ̀ɔp )
Tok Pisin: bekim tok
Turkish: cevap vermek (tr)
Turkmen: jogap bermek
Ukrainian: відповіда́ти impf ( vidpovidáty ) , відповісти́ (uk) pf ( vidpovistý )
Urdu: جواب دینا ( javāb denā )
Uyghur: جاۋاب بەرمەك ( jawab bermek )
Uzbek: javob bermoq
Venetian: responder , risponder
Vietnamese: trả lời (vi)
Welsh: ateb (cy)
Yiddish: ענטפֿערן ( entfern )
to suit a need or purpose satisfactorily
law: to file a response to a complaint
Translations to be checked
See also
Anagrams
Middle English
Noun
answer
Alternative form of answere