मा

See also: माँ, मां, मैं, म, में, मी, and मा़

Garhwali

Verb

मा (mā) (transitive)

1. have

   मेमा यअक किताब न्ही च।

   memā yaak kitāb nhī ca.

   I don't have a book.

Nepali

Etymology

Ultimately from Sanskrit मध्य (madhya), cognate with Hindi में (mẽ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mä]
• Phonetic Devanagari: मा

Postposition

मा • (mā)

1. in, at, on

Newar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ma]

Noun

मा • (mā) ? (Newa Spelling 𑐩𑐵)

1. plant

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• মা (Assamese script)
• ᬫᬵ (Balinese script)
• মা (Bengali script)
• 𑰦𑰯 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀫𑀸 (Brahmi script)
• မာ (Burmese script)
• મા (Gujarati script)
• ਮਾ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌮𑌾 (Grantha script)
• ꦩꦴ (Javanese script)
• 𑂧𑂰 (Kaithi script)
• ಮಾ (Kannada script)
• មា (Khmer script)
• ມາ (Lao script)
• മാ (Malayalam script)
• ᠮᠠᢇ (Manchu script)
• 𑘦𑘰 (Modi script)
• ᠮᠠ᠋᠎ᠠ (Mongolian script)
• 𑧆𑧑 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐩𑐵 (Newa script)
• ମା (Odia script)
• ꢪꢵ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆩𑆳 (Sharada script)
• 𑖦𑖯 (Siddham script)
• මා (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩴𑩛 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚢𑚭 (Takri script)
• மா (Tamil script)
• మా (Telugu script)
• มา (Thai script)
• མཱ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒧𑒰 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨢𑨊 (Zanabazar Square script)

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɑ́ː/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /mɑː/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-Aryan *maH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *maH, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁ (prohibitive particle). Cognate with Albanian mo (“do not”), Ancient Greek μή (mḗ, “not, do not”), Old Armenian մի (mi, “no, not”), Avestan 𐬨𐬁 (mā), Old Persian 𐎶𐎠 (m-a /⁠mā⁠/) (whence Persian مـ (ma-)).

Particle

मा • (mā́)

1. don't (prohibitive particle)
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.5.10:

     मा नो॒ मर्ता॑ अ॒भि द्रु॑हन्।
     त॒नूना॑मिंद्र गिर्वणः।
     ईशा॑नो यवया व॒धम्॥

     mā́ no mártā abhí druhan
     tanū́nām indra girvaṇaḥ
     ī́śāno yavayā vadhám

     O Indra, thou who lovest song,
     do not let any man hurt our bodies.
     Keep slaughter far from us for thou canst.

Derived terms

• माकिम् (mākim)
• माकिस् (mākis)

Descendants

Terms inherited from मा (mā́)

• Ashokan Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸 (mā)
  • Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸 (mā)
    • Apabhramsa: म (ma) (see there for further descendants)
  • ⇒ Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸𑀇𑀅 (māia), 𑀫𑀸𑀇 (māi), 𑀫𑀇𑀅 (maïa)
  • ⇒ Prakrit: 𑀫𑀁𑀢 (maṃta)
    • Takka Apabhramsa:
      • Old Punjabi: ਮਤ (mata), ਮਤਿ (mati), ਮਤੁ (matu)
        • Punjabi: mat

          Gurmukhi script: ਮਤ

          Shahmukhi script: مَت

    • Vracada Apabhramsa:
      • Sindhi:

        Arabic script: مَتان, مَتَڻ, مَتُڻِ

        Devanagari script: मतां, मतण, मतुणि

    • Sauraseni Prakrit:
      • Sauraseni Apabhramsa:
        • Hindustani: mat

          Hindi: मत

          Urdu: مَت (mat)

• Dardic:
  • Kalasha: mo
  • Kashmiri: مَہ (mah)
• Gandhari: 𐨨 (ma)
• Pali: mā

Etymology 2

Shortened from माम् (mā́m).

Pronoun

मा • (mā)

1. (enclitic) accusative singular of अहम् (ahám)

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeic; compare मय (maya, “horse”) and मयु (mayu, “antelope, deer”), which are probably connected to the root, as well as similar formations throughout Indo-European such as Ancient Greek μῐνῠρῐ́ζω (minurízō, “to whimper, warble”).

Root

मा • (mā)

1. to sound, bellow, bleat

Derived terms

Primary Verbal Forms

• मिमाति (mímāti, Present)
• मिमाय (mimā́ya, Perfect)

Non-Finite Forms

• मातवै (mātavai, Infinitive)

Derived Nominal Forms

• मायु (māyú)

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Indo-Aryan *maH-, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *maH-, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”).

Root

मा • (mā)

1. to measure

Derived terms

Sanskrit terms belonging to the root मा (1 c, 8 e)

Primary Verbal Forms

• मिमीते (mímīte, Present)
• माति (mā́ti, Present)
• मायते (māyate, Present)
• मास्यति (māsyáti, Future)
• माता (mātā́, Periphrastic Future)
• अमासि (ámāsi, Aorist)
• अमासीत् (ámāsīt, Aorist)
• ममौ (mamáu, Perfect)
• ममे (mamé, Perfect)

Secondary Forms

• मीयते (mīyáte, Passive)
• अमायि (ámāyi, Passive Aorist)
• मापयति (māpáyati, Causative)
• अमीमपत् (ámīmapat, Causative Aorist)
• मित्सति (mitsati, Desiderative)
• मेमीयते (memīyate, Intensive)
• मामाति (māmāti, Intensive)

Non-Finite Forms

• मित (mitá, Past Participle)
• मातुम् (mātum, Infinitive)
• मितुम् (mitum, Infinitive)
• मामे (māme, Infinitive)
• मामै (māmái, Infinitive)
• मित्वा (mitvā́, Gerund)
• मीत्वा (mītvā́, Gerund)
• माय (mā́ya, Gerundive)
• मातव्य (mātavyá, Gerundive)

Derived Nominal Forms

• मा (mā́)
• मान (mā́na)
• मिति (miti)
• मातृ (mā́tṛ)
• मात्रा (mā́trā)
• माया (māyā́)
• मायु (māyú)
• मास् (mā́s)
• मास (māsa)
• मस् (mas)
• मेय (méya)
• मित्सा (mitsā)
• मापक (māpaka)
• माप्य (māpya)
• मापन (māpana)
• अवमाय (avamāya)

Prefixed Root Forms

• प्रतिमा (pratimā)
• अनुमा (anumā)
• उपमा (upamā)
• निमा (nimā)
• संमा (saṃmā)

Descendants

Terms derived from the Sanskrit root मा (8 c, 0 e)

Etymology 5

From the above root.

Noun

मा • (mā) stem, f (root मा)

1. measure
2. authority
3. light
4. knowledge
5. binding, fettering
6. death

Declension

Feminine ā-stem declension of मा (mā́)
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	माः mā́ḥ	मौ / मा¹ maú / mā́¹	माः mā́ḥ
Vocative	माः mā́ḥ	मौ / मा¹ maú / mā́¹	माः mā́ḥ
Accusative	माम् mā́m	मौ / मा¹ maú / mā́¹	माः / मः² mā́ḥ / máḥ²
Instrumental	मा mā́	माभ्याम् mā́bhyām	माभिः mā́bhiḥ
Dative	मे mé	माभ्याम् mā́bhyām	माभ्यः mā́bhyaḥ
Ablative	मः máḥ	माभ्याम् mā́bhyām	माभ्यः mā́bhyaḥ
Genitive	मः máḥ	मोः móḥ	मानाम् / माम्² mā́nām / mā́m²
Locative	मि mí	मोः móḥ	मासु mā́su
Notes	¹Vedic ²Perhaps

References

• Monier Williams (1899) “मा”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, pages 804/1-2.
• William Dwight Whitney, 1885, The Roots, Verb-forms, and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit Language, Leipzig: Breitkopf and Härtel, page 119