loa

See also: Loa, LOA, lóa, loá, lôa, Lóa, and lo'a

Translingual

Symbol

loa

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Loloda.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Loloda terms

English

Alternative forms

• lwa

Etymology

Borrowed from Haitian Creole lwa.

Pronunciation

• enPR: lōʹə
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈləʊ̯ə/
• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈloʊ̯ə/
• (New York) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌʊ̯ə/
• (non-rhotic accents) Homophone: lower
• Rhymes: -əʊə

Noun

loa (plural loas or loa)

1. In the voodoo religion, a spirit intermediary between Bondye (the creator god) and human beings.
   • 1953, Maya Deren, Divine Horsemen, McPherson & Company, published 2004, page 36:

     Here, on the Island Below the Sea, the loa have their permanent residence, their primal location.

   • 2007, Kevin Filan, The Haitian Vodou Handbook, Destiny Books, page 3:

     Some will caution you at great length about the dangers of Vodou. They will tell you that the lwa are jealous, thin-skinned, and hot-tempered.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 714:

     Equally surprising is to find St Patrick so prominent in many Vodou shrines, until one remembers that he too had been a slave who had twice crossed the sea, the second time to freedom, and that he had particular power over snakes, like the loa (Haitian equivalent of orisha) Dambala Wèdo.

Translations

spirits of voodoo

• Japanese: ロア (roa)

Anagrams

• -ola, AOL, Lao, OAL, Ola, ola

Estonian

Noun

loa

1. genitive singular of luba

Galician

Verb

loa

1. inflection of loar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *loa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlo.a/, [ˈlo.wə]

Noun

loa

1. distance, length

Verb

loa

1. (stative) long, permanent

Derived terms

• Hōkūloa (literally “long star”)
• Mauna Loa (literally “long mountain”)
• hikiāloa (literally “to reach a long way”)

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Loa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔ.a/
• Rhymes: -ɔa
• Hyphenation: lò‧a

Noun

loa f (plural loe)

1. any nematod of the Loa taxonomic genus

Further reading

• loa in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• Lao, alo, alo-, alò, olà

Malagasy

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *luaq (compare Malay luak).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlu.a]

Verb

loa

1. to vomit
2. to pay
3. to discharge

Related terms

	focus (voice)
agent (active)	man-form	mandoa
	mi-form	—
	om-form	—
patient (passive)	loa
	alternate	—
	a-form	aloa
	voa-form	voaloa
	tafa-form	—
goal (relative)	an-form	andoavana
	i-form	—

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Verb

loa (present tense loar, past tense loa, past participle loa, passive infinitive loast, present participle loande, imperative loa/lo)

1. alternative spelling of loe

Etymology 2

Noun

loa f

1. definite singular of lo

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• lôa (obsolete)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese loa, deverbal from loar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlo(w).ɐ/ [ˈlo(ʊ̯).ɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlo(w).ɐ/ [ˈlo(ʊ̯).ɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈlo(w).a/ [ˈlo(ʊ̯).a]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlo.ɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlo.ɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlo(w).ɐ/

• Hyphenation: lo‧a

Noun

loa f (plural loas)

1. a speech of commendation; praise
2. a song paying respect to saints; a carol (religious Christmastime song)

   uma loa de Natal ― a Christmas carol

Further reading

• “loa”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “loa”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “loa”, in Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisboa: Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, 2001–2026
• “loa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026
• “loa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈloa/ [ˈlo.a]
• Rhymes: -oa
• Syllabification: lo‧a

Etymology 1

Deverbal from loar.

Noun

loa f (plural loas)

1. praise

   Synonyms: alabanza, halago, elogio, enaltecimiento

   • 2022 August 23, Javier G. Cuesta, “Rusia convierte el funeral de Daria Dugina en un alegato para justificar el asedio a Ucrania”, in El País‎^[1]:

     La última despedida de Daria Dugina, asesinada la noche del pasado sábado en plena carretera en las afueras de Moscú con una bomba adosada a su coche, se ha convertido este martes en una loa a favor de la victoria rusa sobre Ucrania.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Related terms

• loar

Etymology 2

Verb

loa

1. inflection of loar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “loa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• lowa, luwa

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish loa.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈloa/ [ˈloː.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -oa
• Syllabification: lo‧a

Noun

loa (Baybayin spelling ᜎᜓᜏ) (ecclesiastical, poetry)

1. poetic panegyric of eulogy (usually in praise of the Virgin Mary and the saints)

Anagrams

• alo, ola, Lao

Tswana

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɔ.a/

Verb

lôa (perfect loile)

1. to bewitch

Derived terms

• moloi

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 螺 (“spiral shell”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lwaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lwaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [l⁽ʷ⁾aː˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

Noun

(classifier cái) loa

1. megaphone (portable device used to amplify a person's voice)
2. (by extension) speaker; loudspeaker

Anagrams

• lao