wā

See also: Appendix:Variations of "wa"

Hawaiian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *waa (“roar; talk loudly”), from Proto-Eastern Oceanic *waʀa "speak".

Verb

wā(intransitive)

1. to make noise, to roar
2. to talk a lot; to gossip

Derived terms

• hoʻowā (“roar”, verb)
• wawā (“tumultuous”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *wasa (“interval (of space or time)”) (compare with Māori wā (“to stamp, to trample, to brace with one's feet”), Tahitian va, Tongan vā (“distance”), Samoan vā (“space”)).

Noun

wā

1. time
   1. time period, era

      Ka wā Meiki: the Meiji era

2. occasion
3. (linguistics) tense

Derived terms

• wā e hiki mai ana (“future tense or time”)
• wā hala (“past tense”)
• wā hoʻomaha (“vacation”)
• wā hoʻomalolo (“breaktime”)
• wā mahope (“future”)
• wā pāʻani (“playtime”)
• wā ua (“rainy season”)
• wā ʻānō (“present tense”)

Mandarin

Romanization

wā (wa¹, Zhuyin ㄨㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 凫
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 劸
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 哇
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啒
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嗗
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 媧 / 娲
7. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 徍
8. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 挖
9. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 搲
10. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 攨
11. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 汘
12. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 汚 / 污, 污
13. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 洼
14. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 溛
15. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 漥
16. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 畖
17. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 穵
18. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 窊, 窌
19. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 窪 / 洼
20. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 聉
21. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 蛙
22. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鞉
23. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鮭 / 鲑
24. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鲐
25. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鼃
26. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 凹

Māori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *wasa (“interval (of space or time)”) (compare with Hawaiian wā, Tahitian va, Tongan vā (“distance”), Samoan vā (“space”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwaː/ [ˈwɑː]

Noun

wā

1. time

Further reading

• John C. Moorfield (2011), “wā”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Old Javanese

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baRah (“ember”), from Proto-Austronesian *baRah (“ember, glowing coal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wa/
• Rhymes: -wa
• Hyphenation: wa
• Homophone: wa

Noun

wā

1. ember (glowing piece of coal or wood)
2. live coal
3. glowing and burning material

Adjective

wā

1. alternative form of awā (“bright, clear, shining, glowing”)

Derived terms

• awa
• awawa
• awā
• mawa
• māwa
• māwā

Descendants

• ⇒ Javanese: ꦮꦮ (wawa)

Further reading

• "wā" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Pukapukan

Pukapukan cardinal numbers

<  3	4	5  >
Cardinal : wā     Ordinal : wā

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *fa, from Proto-Oceanic *pat, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Numeral

wā

1. four
2. fourth

Further reading

• Te Pukamuna | Pukapuka Dictionary