wa-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "wa"

Chichewa

Etymology 1

From u- (“thou, you (singular)”) +‎ -a- (“past perfect infix”). Cognate with Tumbuka wa-

Prefix

wa-

1. 2nd person singular subject concord in the past perfect tense.

Etymology 2

From a- (“he, she”) +‎ -a- (“past perfect infix”). Cognate with Tumbuka wa-

Prefix

wa-

1. 3rd person singular subject concord in the past perfect tense.

See also

• nda-
• ta-
• mwa-
• a-

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á- (“Class 1 possessive concord”). Cognate with Tonga (Malawi) wa- (“Class 1 possessive concord”), Yao (Africa) jwa- (“Class 1 possessive concord”) and Zulu wa- (“Class 1 possessive concord”).

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 1/1a possessive concord.

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-. Cognate with Tumbuka wa-, Yao (Africa) wa- and Zulu wa-.

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 3 possessive concord.

Etymology 5

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bà- (“Class 2 noun prefix”)

Prefix

wa-

1. (obsolete) Class 2 noun prefix

References

• Rev. John Rebman (1877), Dictionary of the Kiniassa Language‎^[1], Church Missionary Society

Chuukese

Prefix

wa-

1. to put
2. to place

Curripaco

Prefix

wa-

1. first person plural agent marker

References

• Swintha Danielsen, Tania Granadillo, Agreement in two Arawak languages, in The Typology of Semantic Alignment (edited by Mark Donohue, Søren Wichmann) (2008, →ISBN, page 398

Lakota

Prefix

wa-

1. turns certain verbs into a noun; verbal noun modifier

   ‎wa- + ‎pȟóštaŋ (“to put something on one's head”) → ‎wapȟóštaŋ (“hat”)

2. creates an agent noun

   ‎wa- + ‎oyúspa (“to seize, grab, hold on to, arrest”) → ‎wawóyuspa (“policeman”)

3. to do with arrowheads

Synonyms

• (verbal noun): wó-
• (arrowhead): wi-, waŋ-

Northern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 1 possessive concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 3 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

Phuthi

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 1 possessive concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 3 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bà-.

Prefix

wa- (singular m-)

1. wa class_(II) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting plurals of m class_(I)

   watoto wazuri ― nice children

   ‎mtu (“person”) → ‎watu (“people”)

   ‎Mwingereza (“English person”) → ‎Waingereza (“English people”)

Usage notes

Some words are irregular:

‎mwizi (“thief”) → ‎wezi (“thieves”)

‎mwanamke (“woman”) → ‎wanawake (“women”)

‎-ingine (“other”) → ‎wengine

See also

• Appendix:Swahili noun classes

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they, 3rd person plural (wa class_(II)) subject concord

   Antonym: hawa-

2. verb-initial form of -wa- (“them (3rd person plural (wa class_(II)) object concord) or you (2nd person plural object concord)”)

See also

Swahili personal pronouns (m-wa class_(I/II))

	person	independent	subject concord		object concord	combined forms			possessive
			affirmative	negative		na	ndi-	si-
singular	first	mimi	ni-	si-	-ni-	nami, na mimi	ndimi, ndiye	simi, siye	-angu
	second	wewe	u-	hu-	-ku-	nawe, na wewe	ndiwe, ndiye	siwe, siye	-ako
	third	yeye	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	naye, na yeye	ndiye	siye	-ake
plural	first	sisi	tu-	hatu-	-tu-	nasi, na sisi	ndisi, ndio	sio	-etu
	second	ninyi	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-wa-	nanyi, na ninyi	ndinyi, ndio	sinyi, sio	-enu
	third	wao	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	nao	ndio	sio	-ao
reflexive		—	—		-ji-	—			—

For a full table including other classes, see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns.

Etymology 3

Prefix

wa-

1. contraction of u- +‎ -a-, literally “2nd person singular, m class_(III), and u class_(XI) gnomic”
2. contraction of wa- +‎ -a-, literally “3rd person plural (wa class_(II)) gnomic”

Swazi

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 1 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 3 possessive concord.

Tonga (Malawi)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á- (“Class 1 possessive concord”).

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 1 possessive concord.

Tumbuka

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *à-

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 1 subject concord.

Etymology 2

From u- (“thou, you (singular)”) +‎ -a- (“recent perfect infix”). Cognate with Chichewa wa-

Prefix

wa-

1. 2nd person singular subject concord in the recent past tense.

Etymology 3

From a- (“he, she”) +‎ -a- (“recent perfect infix”). Cognate with Chichewa wa-

Prefix

wa-

1. 3rd person singular subject concord in the recent past tense.

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-. Cognate with Chichewa wa-, Yao (Africa) wa- and Zulu wa-

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 3 possessive concords.

Xhosa

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 1 possessive concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 3 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wa-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

Yao (Africa)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 3 possessive concord.

Zigula

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bà-

Prefix

wa-

1. Class 2 noun prefix.

Zulu

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *jʊ̀á-. Cognate with Yao (Africa) jwa-

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 1 possessive concord.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Bantu *gʊ́á-. Cognate with Chichewa wa-, Tumbuka wa- and Yao (Africa) wa-.

Prefix

wa-

1. of; class 3 possessive concord.

Etymology 3

From Proto-Bantu *gá-.

Prefix

wá-

1. they; class 6 subject concord; form of a- used when another prefix precedes.
2. them; class 6 object concord.

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “wa-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “wa-”