vara

See also: VARA, vara-, vára, vară, våra, varā, and vāra

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish vara. Borrowed from Portuguese vara.

Noun

vara (plural varas)

1. (historical) A unit of length in the old Spanish system (equal to 0.8359 metres) or the old Portuguese system (equal to 1.1 metres).

Anagrams

• Avar

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Catalan

Noun

vara f (plural vares)

1. rod

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Estonian

Etymology

Related to Finnish vara.

Noun

vara (genitive [please provide], partitive [please provide])

1. property, estate

Inflection

Inflection of vara (ÕS type 17/elu, no gradation)

	singular	plural
nominative	vara	varad
accusative	vara	varad
genitive	vara	varade
partitive	vara	varasid
illative	varra varasse	varadesse
inessive	varas	varades
elative	varast	varadest
allative	varale	varadele
adessive	varal	varadel
ablative	varalt	varadelt
translative	varaks	varadeks
terminative	varani	varadeni
essive	varana	varadena
abessive	varata	varadeta
comitative	varaga	varadega

Derived terms

• kaasavara
• tarkvara

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Faroese

Etymology

From Middle Low German waren.

Verb

vara (third person singular past indicative vardi, third person plural past indicative vart, supine vart)

1. to take, to last, to require (about time)

Conjugation

   Conjugation of vara

v-1
infinitive	vara
present participle	varandi
past participle a7	vardur
supine	vart
number	singular			plural
person	first	second	third	all
indicative	eg	tú	hann/hon/tað	vit, tit, teir/tær/tey, tygum
present	vari	varir	varir	vara
past	vardi	vardi	vardi	vardu
imperative	–	tú	–	tit
present	—	var!	—	varið!

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Finnish

(index va)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

Etymology 1

Borrowing from Swedish vara (“goods”).

Noun

vara

1. reserve, backup

   Mäyrä tarvitsee paksun rasvakerroksen talven varaksi.

   A badger needs a thick layer of fat as a reserve for winter.

   Minulla on ylimääräinen tulppa varalla.

   I have an extra plug as backup.

2. (usually in the plural) resources, reserves, funds, means, assets

   Irakilla on suuret öljyvarat.

   Iraq has large oil reserves.

   Minulla ei ole tähän varaa. (literally "I don't have the funds for this.")

   I can't afford this.

3. (usually in the singular) room, margin; allowance

   Muista jättää kutistumisen varaa.

   Remember to leave an allowance for shrinking.

   Meillä ei ole varaa virheisiin.

   We have no margin for errors.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *wara-z, cognates include English wary and aware. Related to Estonian vara.

Noun

vara

1. (mostly in idioms and proverbs) caution, concern, care; often translated into English with an adjective, see also pitää varansa

   Pidä varasi, ettet putoa.

   Be careful so that you don't fall.

   Ei vara venettä kaada. (proverb, literally "Caution does not overturn a boat")

Declension

Inflection of vara (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		vara	varat
genitive		varan	varojen
partitive		varaa	varoja
illative		varaan	varoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		vara	varat
accusative	nom.	vara	varat
	gen.	varan
genitive		varan	varojen varainrare
partitive		varaa	varoja
inessive		varassa	varoissa
elative		varasta	varoista
illative		varaan	varoihin
adessive		varalla	varoilla
ablative		varalta	varoilta
allative		varalle	varoille
essive		varana	varoina
translative		varaksi	varoiksi
instructive		—	varoin
abessive		varatta	varoitta
comitative		—	varoineen

Synonyms

• (caution, concern, care): varovaisuus

Derived terms

• allative + 3rd-pers. sg. of olla + varaa + illative = to be able to/can afford

• Minulla ei ole varaa autoon.
  • I can't afford a car.

• heittäytyä + genitive + varaan = to bank on, count on, depend on
• jättää sattuman varaan = to leave to chance/contingency
• kaiken varalta = just in case, just to make sure, to be on the safe side
• olla varalla = to be in reserve/store, be at hand, be (readily) available
• olla + genitive + varassa = to rest on (physically), to rely/depend on (figuratively)
• pitää varansa = to watch out, watch one's step, be on one's guard, keep one's eyes open
• rakentua + genitive + varaan = to be based on, be founded on, be grounded in
• siltä varalta, että... = in case (sth happens)
• adjectives: varainen, -varaisuus, varakas, varaton
• adverbs: varaan, -varaisesti, varakkaasti, varalla, varalle, varalta, varassa, varasta
• nouns: varaamo, varallisuus, varanto, varasto, varat, varattomuus, varauma, varaus
• verbs: varata, varautua, varoa, varoittaa
• prefixes: vara-

Compounds

This table contains compounds of both etymologies, and also terms prefixed with vara-.

compounds

• hätävara
• jakovara
• joustovara
• järjestelyvara
• kasvunvara
• kutistumisvara
• käsivara
• liikkumavara
• liikkumisvara
• luonnonvara
• maavara
• pelivara
• saumanvara
• saumavara
• säätövara
• takavara
• tasausvara
• työvara

• valinnanvara
• vara-amiraali
• vara-avain
• varahenkilö
• varainhankinta
• varainhoitaja
• varainhoito
• varainhoitokausi
• varainhoitovuosi
• varainkeruu
• varainkeräys
• varainkerääjä
• varainsiirtovero
• varajohtaja
• varajäsen
• varalaskupaikka
• varallaolo
• varallaoloaika

• varallaolopäivystys
• varamiehinen
• varamiehistö
• varamiehitys
• varamies
• varanotaari
• varaosa
• varaosamyyjä
• varaosamyymälä
• varapoistumistie
• varapresidentti
• varapuheenjohtaja
• varapuhemies
• varapyörä
• varapääministeri
• vararahasto
• vararavinto

• vararehtori
• varareitti
• vararengas
• varareservi
• vararikko
• varatie
• varatoimitusjohtaja
• varattu
• varattu-ääni
• varatuomari
• varauloskäynti
• varauloskäytävä
• varavarjo
• varaventtiili
• varavoimakone
• varavoimala
• vierasvara

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Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːra/

  Rhymes: -aːra

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vara.

Noun

vara f (genitive singular vöru, nominative plural vörur)

1. article, commodity
2. (in the plural form) goods, wares, freight, commodities, merchandise

Declension

declension of vara

f-w1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vara	varan	vörur	vörurnar
accusative	vöru	vöruna	vörur	vörurnar
dative	vöru	vörunni	vörum	vörunum
genitive	vöru	vörunnar	vara	varanna

Derived terms

• vöruheiti

plural form

• afritunarvörur (reprographic supplies)
• alþjóðasamningur um viðskipti með mjólkurvörur (International Dairy Agreement)
• aðrar neytendavörur en matvæli (non-food product)
• Bandalagsvörur (Community goods)
• blekvörur (ink products)
• búnaður til að meðhöndla vörur (goods-handling equipment)
• brauðvörur (bakery products, bread products, baker's wares)
• efnislegar fjárfestingarvörur (tangible capital goods)
• efnislegar vörur (tangible goods)
• einnota vörur (disposable articles)
• endursendar vörur (returned consignments)
• fiskveiðivörur (articles for fishing)
• fjárfestingarvörur (capital goods, investment goods)
• flugeldavörur (pyrotechnics)
• flugeldavörur (pyrotechnic articles)
• framleiðsluvörur (manufactured goods)
• förðunarvörur (make-up preparations)
• fótsnyrtivörur (pedicure preparations)
• fullunnar vörur (compensating products, final goods)
• gerjaðar drykkjarvörur (fermented beverages)
• gerð vörureikninga (invoicing)
• gullsmíðavörur (goldsmiths'' wares)
• handsnyrtivörur (manicure preparations)
• handverksvörur (handicraft supplies)
• hjúkrunarvörur (medical goods)
• hálfunnar vörur (intermediate goods)
• háraflitunarvörur (hair bleaches)
• hreingerningavörur (cleaning products)
• hreinlætisvörur (toilet articles)
• hreinsaðar olíuvörur (refined petroleum products)
• hárlitunarvörur (hair tints)
• hárvörur (articles for use with the hair)
• innfluttar vörur (imported products)
• innlendar vörur (domestic goods)
• járnsmíðavörur (blacksmiths' wares)
• járnvörur (hardware, ironmongery)
• kornvörur (cereals)
• körfugerðarvörur (basketware)
• leirvörur (crockery)
• leðurvörur (leather articles, leather goods)
• markaðskynningarvörur (promotion products)
• markaður með notaðar vörur (second-hand market)
• millistigsvörur (intermediary goods)
• mjólkurvörur (lactic products)
• munaðarvörur (luxury goods)
• nefnd um textílvörur (Textiles Committee)
• neysluvörur sem ekki eru varanlegar (consumer non-durables)
• notaðar vörur (second-hand goods)
• of hár vörureikningur (over invoicing)
• pakki sem inniheldur tóbaksvörur (unit packet of tobacco products)
• rafeindavörur (electronic supplies)
• raftæknivörur (electrotechnical supplies)
• rafvörur (electrical goods)
• rafvörur til sérstakra nota (special-purpose electrical goods)
• rekstrarvörur (consumables, supplies, production supplies)
• rekstrarvörur til blóðlækninga (haematological consumables)
• rekstrarvörur til lækninga (medical consumables)
• rekstrarvörur til nota við geislagreiningar (radiodiagnostic supplies)
• rekstrarvörur til nota við sjúkdómsgreiningar (diagnostic supplies)
• rekstrarvörur til tannlækninga (dental consumables)
• íþróttavörur (sports goods)
• samkeppnisvörur (competitive products)
• samlímdar vörur (laminated products)
• samningur um textílvörur og fatnað (Agreement on Textiles and Clothing)

• samsvarandi vörur (corresponding goods)
• silfursmíðavörur (silversmiths' wares)
• skattfrjálsar vörur (tax-free goods)
• skömmtunarvél fyrir hreinlætisvörur (sanitary dispensing machine)
• skrifstofuvörur (office supplies)
• sælkeravörur (delicatessen)
• smíðavörur (smiths' wares)
• snyrtivörur (cosmetics, toiletry, toilet preparations, cosmetic articles)
• snyrtivörur í duftformi (powdered cosmetics)
• sokkavörur (hosiery)
• sætabrauð og brauðvörur (pastry-cook product)
• steypuvörur úr hita- og þrýstihertri frauðsteypu (autoclaved aerated concrete products)
• steypuvörur úr léttri frauðsteypu (lightweight aerated concrete products)
• stoðtækjavörur (orthopaedic supplies)
• sviknar vörur (counterfeit goods)
• tankskip fyrir unnar olíuvörur (product tanker)
• tóbaksvörur (tobacco goods)
• textílvörur til innanhússnota (interior textiles)
• tágasmíðavörur (wickerwork)
• tölvuvörur (computer supplies)
• tómstundavörur (recreational goods)
• tollar á útfluttar vörur (customs duties on exports)
• trésmíðavörur (carpentry)
• útvega vörur (supply goods)
• unnar kornvörur (cereal preparations)
• óunnar vörur (goods in the unaltered state)
• upplýsingavörur (information products)
• varanlegar neysluvörur (consumer durables)
• veiðivörur (articles for hunting)
• viðskipti með framleiðsluvörur (trade in products)
• vörur af ólíkum uppruna (items of mixed provenance)
• vörur bundnar í stroffu (pre-slung goods)
• vörur í dósum (canned products)
• vörureikningur (invoice)
• vörur frá löndum utan Bandalagsins (non-Community goods)
• vörur í gámum (containerised freight)
• vörur í krukkum (jarred products)
• vörur úr hertu gleri (toughened glassware)
• vörur úr jurtaríkinu (vegetable products)
• vörur úr keramíkgleri (ceramic glassware)
• vörur úr vefleysu (articles made from non-wovens)
• vörur sem framleiddar eru til eigin neyslu (goods produced for own consumption)
• vörur sem greinarmunur er á (differentiated products)
• vörur sem þjóna tvenns konar tilgangi (dual-purpose products, dual-use goods)
• vörur sem nota orku (energy-using products)
• vörur sem tengjast menningu (cultural goods)
• vörur í tengslum við gagnagrunna (database goods)
• vörur til að meðhöndla nýrnasjúklinga (renal consumables)
• vörur til æðamyndatöku (angiography supplies)
• vörur til einkanota (personal goods)
• vörur til heimilisnota (household goods)
• vörur til hreinlætisnota (toilet requisites)
• vörur til listsköpunar (art supplies)
• vörur til veitingarekstrar (catering supplies)
• vörur í umbúðum (packaged goods)
• vörur í vistarverur manna (furnishing articles)
• vörur á vörubrettum (palletised goods)
• vísindanefnd um neysluvörur (Scientific Committee on Consumer Products)
• vísindanefnd um snyrtivörur og aðrar neytendavörur en matvæli (Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers)
• yfirlýsing á vörureikningi (invoice declaration)

Etymology 2

From Old Norse vara, from Proto-Germanic *warōną.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varaði, supine varað)

1. (transitive, governs the accusative) to warn ^syn.

Conjugation

vara — active voice (germynd)

infinitive (nafnháttur)		að vara
supine (sagnbót)		varað
present participle (lýsingarháttur nútíðar)		varandi
	indicative (framsöguháttur)			subjunctive (viðtengingarháttur)
present (nútíð)	ég vara	við vörum	present (nútíð)	ég vari	við vörum
	þú varar	þið varið		þú varir	þið varið
	hann, hún, það varar	þeir, þær, þau vara		hann, hún, það vari	þeir, þær, þau vari
past (þátíð)	ég varaði	við vöruðum	past (þátíð)	ég varaði	við vöruðum
	þú varaðir	þið vöruðuð		þú varaðir	þið vöruðuð
	hann, hún, það varaði	þeir, þær, þau vöruðu		hann, hún, það varaði	þeir, þær, þau vöruðu
imperative (boðháttur)	vara (þú)	varið (þið)
	Forms with appended personal pronoun
	varaðu	variði *
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

varast — mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive (nafnháttur)		að varast
supine (sagnbót)		varast
present participle (lýsingarháttur nútíðar)		varandist ** ** the mediopassive present participle is extremely rare and normally not used; it is never used attributively or predicatively, only for explicatory subclauses
	indicative (framsöguháttur)			subjunctive (viðtengingarháttur)
present (nútíð)	ég varast	við vörumst	present (nútíð)	ég varist	við vörumst
	þú varast	þið varist		þú varist	þið varist
	hann, hún, það varast	þeir, þær, þau varast		hann, hún, það varist	þeir, þær, þau varist
past (þátíð)	ég varaðist	við vöruðumst	past (þátíð)	ég varaðist	við vöruðumst
	þú varaðist	þið vöruðust		þú varaðist	þið vöruðust
	hann, hún, það varaðist	þeir, þær, þau vöruðust		hann, hún, það varaðist	þeir, þær, þau vöruðust
imperative (boðháttur)	varast (þú)	varist (þið)
	Forms with appended personal pronoun
	varastu	varisti *
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

varaður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)				plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)		masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	varaður	vöruð	varað		varaðir	varaðar	vöruð
accusative (þolfall)	varaðan	varaða	varað		varaða	varaðar	vöruð
dative (þágufall)	vöruðum	varaðri	vöruðu		vöruðum	vöruðum	vöruðum
genitive (eignarfall)	varaðs	varaðrar	varaðs		varaðra	varaðra	varaðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)				plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)		masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	varaði	varaða	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
accusative (þolfall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
dative (þágufall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
genitive (eignarfall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu

Synonyms

• (warn): ^def. gefa aðvörun

Derived terms

• vara við
• vara sig
• vara sig á
• varaðu þig
• varast

Etymology 3

From Middle Low German waren (whence also Swedish vara, Norwegian vare, Danish vare), from Proto-Germanic *wazōną.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (intransitive) to last, to continue, to go on ^syn.

   Hvað varir þetta lengi?

   How long will this last?

2. (intransitive) to last, to endure, to be permanent ^syn.

Synonyms

• (last): ^def. standa
• (endure): ^def. endast

Etymology 4

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (impersonal) to expect
   • 1990, the song Það sést ekki sætari mey ("None sweeter than me can be seen") from the album Gling-Gló by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar (Lyrics)

     Og fyrr en mig varði

     hver strákur á mig starði

     eins og stelpur á gleym-mér-ei

     Before I would know it

     every boy would stare at me

     the way girls do at forget-me-nots

   Gestirnir komu fyrr en mig varði.

   The guests arrived earlier than expected.

Derived terms

• þá er minnst varði (suddenly, unexpectedly)

Etymology 5

Noun

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of var

Etymology 6

Noun

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of vör

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Ingrian

Etymology

Related to Finnish vara.

Noun

vara

1. asset
2. reserve
3. protection

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Italian

Etymology

See the etymology of the main entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/
• Stress: vàro
• Hyphenation: va‧ro

Adjective

vara

1. feminine singular of varo

Verb

vara

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

Anagrams

• avrà

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Karelian

Etymology

Related to Finnish vara.

Noun

vara

1. reserve

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Latin

Etymology

From vārus.

Noun

vāra f (genitive vārae); first declension

1. fork, forked branch
2. tripod, easel

Inflection

First declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	vāra	vārae
Genitive	vārae	vārārum
Dative	vārae	vārīs
Accusative	vāram	vārās
Ablative	vārā	vārīs
Vocative	vāra	vārae

Adjective

vāra

1. inflection of vārus:
   1. nominative feminine singular
   2. nominative neuter plural
   3. accusative neuter plural
   4. vocative feminine singular
   5. vocative neuter plural

vārā

1. ablative feminine singular of vārus

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Latvian

Etymology 1

See varš.

Noun

vara m

1. genitive singular form of varš

Etymology 2

Noun

vara f (4th declension)

1. power

Declension

Declension of vara (4th declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	vara	varas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	varu	varas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	varas	varu
dative (datīvs)	varai	varām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	varu	varām
locative (lokatīvs)	varā	varās
vocative (vokatīvs)	vara	varas

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Northern Sami

Noun

vara

1. accusative and genitive singular of varra

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Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• varen

Noun

vara m, f

1. definite feminine singular of vare

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

vara f

1. definite singular of vare

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Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera.

Verb

vara

1. To be
   1. to occupy a place, to be

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara

	present			past
infinitive	vara, væra			—
participle	vara			varin
active voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
iæk	æm, ær	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	—	var, uas	vāre
þū	æst	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	æ	vart, uast	vāre
han	ær	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	—	var, uas	vāre
vīr	ærum	sēin, varin, værin	ærum	vārom	vāre
īr	ærin	sēn, vari, værin	ærin	vārin	vāre
þēr	æru, æra, aru	sē	—	vāro	vāre

Descendants

• Swedish: vara

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Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• 𑀯𑀭 (Brahmi script)
• वर (Devanagari script)
• ৱর (Bengali script)
• වර (Sinhalese script)
• ဝရ (Burmese script)
• วร (Thai script)
• ᩅᩁ (Tai Tham script)
• វរ (Khmer script)

Adjective

vara

1. excellent
2. noble

Declension

Declension table of "vara" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varo	varā
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	vare
Instrumental (third)	varena	varehi or varebhi
Dative (fourth)	varassa or varāya or varatthaṃ	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varasmā or varamhā or varā	varehi or varebhi
Genitive (sixth)	varassa	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varasmiṃ or varamhi or vare	varesu
Vocative (calling)	vara	varā

Declension table of "varā" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varā	varāyo or varā
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	varāyo or varā
Instrumental (third)	varāya	varāhi or varābhi
Dative (fourth)	varāya	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varāya	varāhi or varābhi
Genitive (sixth)	varāya	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varāya or varāyaṃ	varāsu
Vocative (calling)	vare	varāyo or varā

Declension table of "vara" (neuter)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varaṃ	varāni
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	varāni
Instrumental (third)	varena	varehi or varebhi
Dative (fourth)	varassa or varāya or varatthaṃ	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varasmā or varamhā or varā	varehi or varebhi
Genitive (sixth)	varassa	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varasmiṃ or varamhi or vare	varesu
Vocative (calling)	vara	varāni

References

vara in Pali Text Society (1921–1925), Pali-English Dictionary, London: Chipstead. (licensed under CC-BY-NC)

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Old Portuguese vara, from Latin vara. Compare Spanish vara.

Pronunciation

• (Portugal, Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ɾɐ/
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

1. A unit of length, a yard
2. A stick, a twig
3. A district court, an original court, a trial court/court of first instance.

Derived terms

• varão
• varinha

Verb

vara

1. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present indicative of varar
2. second-person singular (tu, sometimes used with você) affirmative imperative of varar

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/

Adverb

vara

1. in the summer

Noun

vara f

1. definite singular nominative and accusative form of vară.

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin vara

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

1. a long and thin stick, pole or rod
2. thin branch or cane (of a tree or bush)
3. a staff of office.
4. (bullfighting) bullfighter's lance
5. (obsolete) A unit of length, about 0.836 metre. Half a braza.

Derived terms

• varilla
• varita f
• vara mágica f

See also

• barra
• bastón
• palo
• rama

Verb

vara

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of varar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of varar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of varar.

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɑːˌra/, IPA^(key): /ˈvɑː/

• audio

  (file)

  • Pronunciation of the present tense form of vara (“to be”) varies geographically and depending on the formality of the language. The most formal pronunciation is /ɛːr/ with a varying degree of openness in the vowel. Less formal pronunciation in running speech varies between /eː/ and /ɛː/.
• Rhymes: -ɑː

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish vara, væra from Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera.

Noun

vara n

1. existence, being

   Varats olidliga lätthet

   The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984 novel by Milan Kundera)

Declension

Declension of vara
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	vara	varat	—	—
Genitive	varas	varats	—	—

Verb

vara

1. To be
   1. to occupy a place, to be (somewhere)

      Var har du varit?

      Where have you been?

   2. to occur, to take place
   3. (rare) to exist
      • c. 1847, Carl August Hagberg, translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1601), act 3, scene 1

        Att vara eller icke vara, det är frågan: / Månn’ ädlare att lida och fördraga / Ett bittert ödes styng och pilar eller / Att ta till vapen mot ett haf af qval

        To be or not to be– that is the question: / Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

   4. (copulative) indicates that the subject and object are the same
   5. (copulative, mathematics) indicates that the values on either side of an equation are the same
   6. (copulative) indicates that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal
   7. (copulative) connects a noun to an adjective that describes it
   8. used to form the passive voice, when stressing the end result of the process
   9. (archaic) used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs

      Jag är uppstigen sedan en timme.

      I have been out of bed for an hour.

   10. used to indicate things like age, height, temperature, weather, ...

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	vara	-
Present tense	är	-
Past tense	var	-
Supine	varit	-
Imperative	var	-
Present participle	varande
Past participle	varen

See also:

• vare (present tense conjunctive), vore (past tense conjunctive)
• ären, äro (plural present tense indicative); voro (plural past tense indicative)
• varen (second person plural imperative)

Alternative forms

• va (strongly colloquial)

Synonyms

• (occupy a place): befinna sig, finnas, ligga / sitta / stå
• (to exist:): existera
• (to create passive voice:): bli (when putting stress on the process), varda (archaic, only used in the past tense (and thus one uses the corresponding past tense "vart"))
• (A special verb form which does not exist for all verbs, but when it does it is constructed by addition of the suffix -s to the active voice, to be put after any suffixes for tense. It is neutral in its use, neither really stressing the action or the result over the other.)

Related terms

• närvara
• närvaro
• tillvaro
• vara till
• var så god or varsågod
• övervara

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish vara, from Middle Low German waren, from Old Saxon waron, from Proto-Germanic *warōną. Cognate with Danish vare

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

1. to last

   Mötet varade flera timmar.

   The meeting lasted several hours.

   Mjölken varar längre i kylskåpet.

   The milk will last longer in the fridge.

   Synonyms: fortfara, hålla på, pågå

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (weak)

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	vara	—
Present tense	varar	—
Past tense	varade	—
Supine	varat	—
Imperative	vara	—
Present participle	varande
Past participle	—

Derived terms

• varaktig
• bevara
• förvara

Etymology 3

In expressions like ta sig till vara, ta vara på. Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vari, cognate with Danish vare, possibly from an unattested Old Swedish vari (care), related to Icelandic vari (“caution, carefullness”), but influenced by Middle Low German ware namen, related to German wahren, wahrnehmen.

Noun

vara ?

1. care

   ta vara på

   take care of, keep, not throw away, not waste

   ta sig till vara

   be careful, beware

Etymology 4

From Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vara, from Middle Low German ware. Cognate with Danish vare, German Ware, English ware. Could be related to Sanskrit vara- (valuable).

Noun

vara c

1. a ware, goods

Declension

Declension of vara
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	vara	varan	varor	varorna
Genitive	varas	varans	varors	varornas

Related terms

• hårdvara
• mjukvara
• programvara
• reavara
• varubelåning
• varubeställning
• varubeteckning
• varubil
• varubrist
• varubud
• varubuss
• varubörs
• varudeklaration
• varudeklarera
• varudistribution
• varuexport
• varufakta
• varuförsörjning
• varugrupp
• varuhiss
• varuhus
• varuimport
• varuintag
• varukorg
• varukännedom
• varulag
• varulager
• varumängd
• varumärke
• varumässa
• varunamn
• varuparti
• varupris
• varuproduktion
• varuprov
• varuskatt
• varuslag
• varusmuggling
• varusortiment
• varutrafik
• varutransport
• varuutbyte
• varuvagn

 

Etymology 5

Attested since 1664. From var (“pus”).

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

1. to generate pus

   Såret började vara efter några timmar.

   The wound began to fill with pus after a few hours.

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (weak)

	Active	Passive
Infinitive	vara	varas
Present tense	varar	varas
Past tense	varade	varades
Supine	varat	varats
Imperative	vara	—
Present participle	varande
Past participle	—

References

• vara in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)
• vara in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

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Veps

Etymology

Related to Finnish vara.

Noun

vara

1. stock, store, inventory
2. resource
3. asset

Inflection

Inflection of vara
nominative sing.	vara
genitive sing.	varan
partitive sing.	varad
partitive plur.	varoid
	singular	plural
nominative	vara	varad
accusative	varan	varad
genitive	varan	varoiden
partitive	varad	varoid
essive-instructive	varan	varoin
translative	varaks	varoikš
inessive	varas	varoiš
elative	varaspäi	varoišpäi
illative	?	varoihe
adessive	varal	varoil
ablative	varalpäi	varoilpäi
allative	varale	varoile
abessive	varata	varoita
comitative	varanke	varoidenke
prolative	varadme	varoidme
approximative I	varanno	varoidenno
approximative II	varannoks	varoidennoks
egressive	varannopäi	varoidennopäi
terminative I	?	varoihesai
terminative II	varalesai	varoilesai
terminative III	varassai	—
additive I	?	varoihepäi
additive II	varalepäi	varoilepäi

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “запас, ресурс, состояние, средство, фонд”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika