ma

ma (plural mas)

1. (astronomy, usually in the plural) Abbreviation of milli-arcsecond.

The sound, which parents interpret as a reference to themselves, is very commonly made by infants. For more on the linguistic process whereby infants' monosyllables are tied to ancient word roots for parents, see mama, papa, mātēr, and patēr.

• IPA^(key): /mɑː/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː

ma (plural mas)

1. (colloquial, and in direct address) mother, mama

   Coordinate term: pa

   • 2011, Philip Reeve, Scrivener's Moon, Scholastic, →ISBN, page 48:

     Once the silky gent who ran a barge called the Knuckle Sandwich tried to persuade Borglum's ma and da to sell him their little dwarfish boy for twelve gold coins.

2. (colloquial) The landlady of a theater.
   • 1949, Shaw Desmond, The Edwardian Story, page 322:

     […] that dear little man writing in the guestbook of the "Ma" or theatrical landlady […]

• Often capitalized when used to refer to a specific person.

  Hey, Ma, I’d like you to meet my friend Jamie.

• (landlady of a theater): 1984, Jonathon Green, Newspeak.

• pa

Abbreviation.

ma

1. May.

• Usually capitalised as Ma.

From my.

ma

1. (dialectal, informal) Alternative spelling of my.

From Cantonese 嘛 (maa³, “of course!”).^[1]

ma

1. (Manglish, Singlish) Alternative form of mah.

From Mandarin 嗎／吗 (ma).

ma

1. (Chinese Malaysian and Singaporean) Alternative spelling of mah.

Japanese 間

ma (uncountable)

1. (art) Negative space in Japanese art.

• A&M, A. M., am, A. & M., AM, 'am, Am., Am, a.m., a. m., A.M.

• Audio:

  (file)

ma

1. mother

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma (negative particle).

• (Myanmar) /ma˧/
• (Lianghe) [n³¹]
• (Longchuan) [ma³¹]
• (Luxi) [m³¹]
• (Xiandao) [m³¹]

ma

1. Placed before a verb to negate it: not
   • 2010, “Psalm 115:6”, in Ngochang Common Language Bible‎^[1], Yangon: Bible Society of Myanmar:

     No dap laus eq ma xauhgyo, nho dap laus eq ma yoh nam.

     [The idols have] ears stuck [to them] but do not hear; [the idols have] noses stuck [to them] but cannot smell.

• Inglis, Douglas; Sampu, Nasaw; Jaseng, Wilai; Jana, Thocha (2005), A preliminary Ngochang–Kachin–English Lexicon‎^[2], Payap University, page 77

• máa

From Proto-Afroasiatic *ma, *mi-.

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/ [ˈmʌ]
• Hyphenation: ma

má (bound form maa-)

1. what? what kind of?

• macá (“what?”)

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “ma”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN

• Audio:

  (file)

ma (plural ma's)

1. mom, mother

• mamma
• moeder

• pa

• ouma

ma

1. and

• Leenhardt, M. (1935), Vocabulaire et grammaire de la langue Houaïlou, Paris: Institut d'ethnologie. Cited in: "Houaïlou" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
• Leenhardt, M. (1946), Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "Ajiø" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Unknown. Compare Ge'ez -መ (-mma) (emphatic enclitic).

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. (enclitic) and, but
2. (enclitic) used to stress single words, especially the predicate of nominal clauses

   𒌓𒈠𒈠 [ūmamma] ― u₄-ma-ma ― this very day

• me, mu

• Black, Jeremy; George, Andrew; Postgate, Nicholas (2000), “-ma”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, via the electronic Babylonian Library

• mà, Maa, Mann, Mànn, mo

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

ma m (Gressoney, Issime)

1. man
2. husband

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

má

1. to love

• Cristiane Benjamin Santos, Aspectos morfossintáticos dos pronomes pessoais em Anaan (2007)
• Bruce Connell, Lower Cross Wordlist

ma

1. (Mpakwithi) man

ma

1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to hear
2. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to listen

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187

From Proto-Central Naga *maʔ, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma (negative particle). Doublet of the negative prefix me-.

ma

1. (Chungli, Mongsen) Used to express refusal to accept a command or invitation: no!

• A. R. Coupe (2007), A grammar of Mongsen Ao, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, pages 405-406
• Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga‎^[3], Berkeley: University of California, pages 78, 178

ma

1. and

• Kateřina Naitoro, A Sketch Grammar of 'Are'are: The Sound System and Morpho-Syntax (2013)

From Latin magis. Compare Romanian mai.

ma

1. more

From Italian ma.

ma

1. but, yet
2. if

• mamá

See madre

ma f (plural mas)

1. mother

   Synonym: madre

• IPA^(key): [màꜜà]

ma

1. sea cow

ma (auxiliary)

1. (verbal auxiliary) marks an action which is not accomplished

   A ma na fɔlɔ

   He has not come yet

   Sirajɛ ma taa dɔgɔ la

   Siraje did not go to the market

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

• IPA^(key): /mɑ/

Unstressed form of mia

ma

1. me (dative)
2. we

From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann- (“person”). Compare German man and Dutch men.

ma

1. one, you (indefinite pronoun; construed as a third-person singular)

   Ma waß nia, wås an erwoat. ― You never know what to expect.

2. they, people (people in general)

   Des sågt ma hoid a so. ― That's just the way people say it.

3. they (some unspecified group of people)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

ma

1. my

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

ma

1. good!

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

ma

1. that
2. if

• mar

ma

1. alternative spelling of my (“1st person singular possessive determiner”)

ma

1. horse

From Vulgar Latin *mam, reduced form of Latin meam.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [mə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ma]
• Homophone: mà

ma

1. feminine singular of mon

• IPA^(key): /mæ/

ma

1. they

• ma is used solely as a subject of a transitive verb, while siha is used either as a subject of an intransitive verb or an object of a transitive verb.

• Donald M. Topping (1973), Chamorro Reference Grammar‎^[4], Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

• (Langrois) mo

Inherited from Old French mes, Latin magis.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. (Troyen, Langrois) but

• Daunay, Jean (1998), Parlers de Champagne : Pour un classement thématique du vocabulaire des anciens parlers de Champagne (Aube - Marne - Haute-Marne)‎^[5] (in French), Rumilly-lés-Vaudes
• Baudoin, Alphonse (1885), Glossaire de la forêt de Clairvaux‎^[6] (in French), Troyes

From Middle High German māne, from Old High German māno, from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”).

ma m

1. (Tredici Comuni) moon

• maano, må

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

An unstressed pronunciation of månn (“man”).

ma

1. (Luserna) one, you (indefinite pronoun)

• “ma” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

ma

1. hand.

From Proto-Brythonic *mɨn, *mow, from Proto-Celtic *mene, genitive form of *mī. Cognate with Breton ma, Irish and Scottish Gaelic mo, Manx my, and Welsh fy.

ma

1. my
2. Reduced form of my

Related to widespread words for "mother" and related respectful terms for women across West Africa.

ma

1. mother-in-law

• Dalby, T. D. P. (1963), “The extinct language of Dama”, in Sierra Leone Language Review, volume 2, Freetown: Fourah Bay College, pages 50–54

ma

1. bee (insect)

• IPA^(key): /maː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma
• Rhymes: -aː

ma f (plural ma's, diminutive maatje n)

1. (informal) mother

• mama
• moeder

• Negerhollands: maa

• oma
• pa

má

1. love, like

• Bruce Connell, Lower Cross Wordlist

Abbreviation of mina, from Proto-Finnic *minä, from Proto-Uralic *minä.

• IPA^(key): /mɑ/

ma (genitive mu, partitive mind, long form mina)

1. I (1st person singular personal pronoun)

• Used unstressed in a sentence; when the pronoun is stressed, mina is used.

Declension of ma
1st person	singular		plural
	long	short	long	short
nominative	mina	ma	meie	me
genitive	minu	mu	meie	me
partitive	mind		meid
illative	minusse	musse		meisse
inessive	minus	mus		meis
elative	minust	must		meist
allative	minule	mulle		meile
adessive	minul	mul		meil
ablative	minult	mult		meilt
translative	minuks	–	meieks	meiks
terminative	minuni	–	meieni	–
essive	minuna	–	meiena	–
abessive	minuta	–	meieta	–
comitative	minuga	muga	meiega	–

• “ma”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “ma”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
• ma in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ/, [ˈmɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ma
• Hyphenation^(key): ma

ma

1. abbreviation of maanantai (“Monday”)

• “ma”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[7] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 1 July 2023

See minä; developed through contraction. Compare Estonian ma.

ma (poetic, archaic)

1. (personal) I

Other forms than the nominative generally align with mä.

• minä (standard Finnish; see it for full list)

ma

1. feminine singular of mon

From Old French ma, from Latin meam.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

ma f

1. feminine singular of mon

   Ma mère est venue me voir.

   My mother came to see me.

Ma can only be used before feminine singular nouns and adjectives that begin with either a consonant or an aspirated H. The masculine form mon is used before feminine singular nouns and adjectives that begin with either a vowel or muted H.

• Louisiana Creole: mâ

• “ma”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

From Latin magis.

ma

1. but

• IPA^(key): /ma/, [mä], [mɐ]

ma

1. (colloquial) pronunciation spelling of mal

ma

1. 2nd-person singular pronoun: you
2. 2nd-person plural pronoun: you
3. 2nd-person singular possessive pronoun: your
4. 2nd-person plural possessive pronoun: your

• ma-

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ma/, [mə]

ma

1. in, at

Probably related to más.

• IPA^(key): [ˈmɒ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -mɒ

ma

1. today

   Synonym: (folksy) máma

   Coordinate terms: holnap, tegnap

   • 1975, Imre Kertész, translated by Tim Wilkinson, Sorstalanság, Budapest: Magvető Könyvkiadó (2016), →ISBN, page 5:

     Ma nem mentem iskolába. Azaz mentem, de csak, hogy hazakéredzkedjem az osztályfőnökömtől.

     I didn’t go to school today. Or rather, I did go, but only to ask my class teacher’s permission to take the day off.

2. (attributively, before any time of day) this …… (morning etc.), to-…… (as in “tonight”)

   ma reggel/délelőtt ― this morning

   ma délután ― this afternoon

   ma este ― this evening

   ma éjjel/éjszaka ― tonight

   ma hajnalban, délben, éjfélkor ― at dawn, noon, midnight today

ma (usually uncountable, plural mák)

2. (usually preceded by the definite article “a”) today (the present time period; nowadays)

The suffixed singular forms máig, mára, mához, máról, and mától are common, while mát, mának, mával, máért, mában, mánál, mába, and mából occur mostly in a figurative sense, referring to the present time. The phrase a mai nap is commonly used in its literal sense, adding suffixes to nap instead of this term. Its plural forms are virtually non-existent.

Its (single- and multiple-possession) possessive forms are hardly if ever used.

• más

• ma in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• ma in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Borrowed from French mais, Italian ma, Portuguese and Spanish mas, all from Latin magis, from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. but

• sed (archaic)

From Italian ma.

ma

1. but

Inherited from Proto-Edoid *mhanhɪ.

ma

1. First person plural pronoun, we.

From Latin magis.

ma

1. but
   • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 68:

     Ma sulo i tuoi bai uoci, anema meîa,

     But only your beautiful eyes, oh soul of mine

Inherited from Latin magis.

• IPA^(key): /ma/^*, /ˈma/^*[1]
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: ma, mà

ma

1. but, however

   Synonym: però

2. but, on the contrary

   Synonyms: anzi, bensì

3. (informal, emphatic) indicates emotion or emphasis

   Ma che carino! ― Oh how cute!

   Ma che volete da me?! ― What in the heck do you want from me?!

4. (informal) used to direct attention to something else (in question sentences)

   Ma... tu sei di Roma? ― So uhh... you are from Rome?

   Ma ti sei divertito oppure no? ― [That said though] did you have fun or not?

ma m (invariable)

1. but

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/^°[1]
• Homophone: mah
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: mà

ma

1. alternative spelling of mah^[2]

• ma¹ in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana
• ma in Treccani.it – Sinonimi e Contrari (2003), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

ma

1. The hiragana syllable ま (ma) or the katakana syllable マ (ma) in Hepburn romanization.

Cognate to Önge mi (“I; me”).

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. me; us (singular and plural first-person pronoun in the accusative case)

The pronoun mi can also be used in the accusative case, but it is less common than ma. When used in possessive constructions, the choice of pronoun is largely determined by vowel harmony.

Jarawa pronouns

Person	Default form	Accusative form	Prefixed form
1st	mi	ma	m-
2nd	ŋi	ŋa	ŋ-
	ni	na	n-
	ən		ən-
3rd	hi, əhi	hiwa	h-, hi-, ih-, he-, əh-
	ən (for generic third-person)

• Kumar, Pramod (2012) Descriptive and Typological Study of Jarawa^[8] (PhD). Jawaharlal Nehru University. Page 76—85.

Inherited from Proto-Berber.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. if

   Ma yehwa-yak xas ad teɣreḍ. ― If you like, you can read it.

When ma is followed by a verb in the past tense, it indicates a conditional in the present or future.

ma m or f

1. Used to introduce a yes-or-no question.

   Ma d kečč i t-yebbʷin? ― Was it you that took it?

• Association Culturelle Numidya (2025), “Amawal, dictionnaire kabyle-français en ligne”, in Amawal‎^[9], retrieved 2025
• Dallet, Jean-Marie (1982), Dictionnaire kabyle-français: parler des At Mangellat, Algérie (in French), Paris, France

ma

1. only

ma

1. daddy; father (term of address)

ma

1. water

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

• IPA^(key): /mǎꜜ/

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3 with a monosyllabic stem, together with rũkũ, and so on.

• (Kiambu)
  • (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including baba, guka, gũtũ, mũguĩ, mũtwe, nyamũ, ruo, rũhĩ (pl. hĩ), rũkũ (pl. ngũ), taata (“my aunt”), ũta (pl. mota), ũthiũ (pl. mothiũ), and so on.^[1]

ma

1. truth^[2]

ma

1. truly^[2]

ma

1. (for class 6) of

   maguta ma mbarĩki

   castor oil

   (literally, “oil of castor bean(s)”)

Inherited from Old Spanish mas, from Latin magis (“more”).

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

ma (Hebrew spelling מה)^[1]

1. but

   Synonyms: ama, pero

   • 1979 July, Moshe Shaul, “Istoria i Dezvelopamiento del Djudeo-Espaniol”, in Aki Yerushalayim‎^[10], archived from the original on 3 December 2020, page 11:

     La primera de eyas es ke el djudeo-espaniol kontiene un grande numero de arkaizmos o sea, palavras ke eran empleadas en Espania asta el siglo XV ma ke dezparesieron dezde entonses de su vokabulario, mientres ke en el djudeo-espaniol kontinuan a existir asta oy.

     The first of them is that Judeo-Spanish contains a large number of archaisms, or rather, words that were used in Spain until the 15th century but which disappeared after then from its vocabulary, while in Judeo-Spanish they continue to be used to this day.

   • 2020 January 29, Metin Delevi, “El 27 de Enero es el dia de memoria de las viktimas del Nazismo, del Olokosto…”, in Şalom‎^[11]:

     Devemos de saver ke el antisemitizmo es una de las formas ekstremas del rasizmo ma ay otras formas de rasizmo i devemos de luchar kon todo modo forma del rasizmo.

     We must know that antisemitism is one of the extreme forms of racism, but there are other forms of racism and we must fight every form of racism.

2. why

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

-má

1. to stand

Cognate with Burmese အမွေ (a.mwe).

ma

1. inheritance
2. heirloom

• Dr. Ola Hanson, A Dictionary of the Kachin Language (1906).

ma

1. but

From Proto-Paman *pama.

ma (ergative mal, dative maw)

1. man, person

• minā

Shorter form of minā.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ/, [ˈmɑ]

ma

1. I; first-person pronoun, referring to the speaker

• sinā, sa
• tämā, ta

• Renāte Blumberga, Tapio Mäkeläinen, Karl Pajusalu (2013), Lībieši: vēsture, valoda un kultūra (in Livonian), Riga: Līvõ Kultūr sidām, →ISBN
• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “ma”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[12] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

• IPA^(key): [ma]

ma

1. third-person singular present of měś

• IPA^(key): /maː/
• Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /ma/.
• Homophone: ma’
• Rhymes: -aː

From Arabic مَا (mā, “not”).

ma

1. not; used to negate verbs and pronominal adverbs

   Illum ma nixrobx. ― I do not drink today.

   Qatt ma nixrob. ― I never drink. / I do not ever drink.

   • 2008, Trevor Żahra, Il-Ġenn li Jżommni f’Sikti, Merlin Publishers, →ISBN:

     Kulħadd jibża’ u ħadd ma jabbuża jmissu!

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• Generally used together with the negative ending -x attached to the verb or pronominal adverb. This ending is absent, however, when another negative word is used, such as qatt (“never”), ebda (“no, none”), ħadd (“nobody”), xejn (“nothing”).

From Arabic مَا (mā, “what”).

ma

1. (relative) alternative form of li (“who, which, that”), used in some fossiled expressions

   L-ewwel ma tiekol, l-għajn.

   You eat with your eyes first.

   (literally, “The first that eats is the eye.”)

2. (obsolete, with comparative adjective) how (as in “how beautiful is...”)

   Synonym: kemm

   • ca. 1760, G.P.F. Agius de Soldanis, Discorso tra due contadini sopra le nuove correnti:

     Rait e Sultana, u makbar u mesbahh ma hi, ma t challi hhasra, ghaliesc i enghat li t-arga mnein giet.

     Rajt is-Sultana. U ma akbar u ma isbaħ ma hi! Imma tħalli ħasra, għaliex jingħad li terġa’ mnejn ġiet.

     I saw the Sultana [a captured Turkish ship]. And how big and how beautiful she is! But is a pity, because they say she will go back to where she came from.

ma (ma⁵ / ma⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄇㄚ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 么
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嗎 / 吗
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嘛
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 㕰

ma

1. nonstandard spelling of mā
2. nonstandard spelling of má
3. nonstandard spelling of mǎ
4. nonstandard spelling of mà

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

ma

1. dog

ma

1. milk

ma

1. already

ma

1. separates the topic from the rest of the sentence.

   Oja ma haku.

   As for the pan, it is hot.

From Canadian French ma.

• IPA^(key): [ma]

ma f (masculine moñ, masculine and feminine plural mii)

1. my

ma

1. alternative form of man (“one, you”)

Cognate with Suri ma.

• IPA^(key): /mà/, [mà]
• Hyphenation: ma

ma (Ethiopic script ማ)

1. water
2. river

• David Turton; Moges Yigezu; Olisarali Olibui (2008), “ma”, in Mursi-English-Amharic dictionary, →ISBN, page 117
• Firew Girma Worku (2020), A grammar of Mursi, page 123

From Latin magis. Compare Italian ma, French mais.

ma

1. but

From Assamese মা (ma), Early Assamese মাৱ (mawo), from Prakrit 𑀫𑀸𑀬𑀸 (māyā), from Sanskrit माता (mātā).

ma

1. mother, mom

ma

1. A verbaliser, creating multi-word verbs from nouns and adjectives

• Westerlund, T. (2007). A grammatical sketch of Ngarla: A language of Western Australia. Uppsala University.

From English my.

ma (with tonal diacritic: má)

1. my

ma

1. (Mooring) with

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

-má

1. to stand

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Derived from the 1st person dual suffix -ma, which itself is a neologism, found in 15th century texts, derived from the 1st person dual suffix -va under the influence of the 1st person plural suffices -m/-me/-my. There aren't many attestations of this pronoun.

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈma/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈma/

ma

1. (rare) we two (first person dual)

   Synonyms: vě, va

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “ma”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

From Proto-Germanic *maiz. Cognate with Old Frisian mā, Old Saxon mēr, Old Dutch mēr, Old High German mēr, Old Norse meir, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐍃 (mais).

• IPA^(key): /mɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɑː

mā

1. more
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' Metres of Boethius, lines 85-89

     Mid þȳ is ġetācnod þæt his trēowa sceal, and his mōdġeþonc, mā up þonne niþer habban tō heofonum.

     By that is betokened, that his trust shall, and his mind, more upwards than downwards aspire to the heavens.

   • The Life of Saint Margaret

     Sēo hāliġe fǣmne him andswarode and cwæþ, "Nis mē ālīefed þæt iċ þē tō seċġe, for þon þū neart nā wierðe mīne stefne tō ġehīerenne. Godes bebodu iċ wille ġehīeran and ġecȳðan. And þū, dēofol, ādumba nū, for þon þe iċ nylle nān word mā of þīnum mūðe ġehīeran."

     The holy virgin answered him and said, "I’m not allowed to tell you, because you don't deserve to hear my voice. God's commandments are what I want to hear and impart. And you, demon, be quiet now, because I don't want to hear one more word out of your mouth."

2. further
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Nū ðū þæt swā openlīce onġiten hæfst, ne þearfe ic nū nauht swīþe ymbe þ swincan þæt ic þē mā be gode recce.

     Since thou hast so clearly understood this, I need not now greatly labour in order that I may instruct thee further concerning good;...

3. instead, rather

• Middle English: mo, ma, moe
  • English: mo

mā (indeclinable)

1. more (often + genitive)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Maur, Abbot"

     Þā ġecwæð sē abbod and ealle þā ġebrōðra þæt þēr ne mihte nā mā muneca wunian...

     Then said the abbot and all the brothers, that no more monks could dwell there...

The expected comparative and superlative forms of mā, māra and mǣst, occur, but are traditionally considered to be suppletive forms of miċel instead.

From Latin meam.

ma f (masculine mon, plural mes)

1. my (first-person singular possessive)

• French: ma

ma

1. one

ma

1. alternative spelling of má

ma

1. snow

• Omaha Ponca digital dictionary

ma

1. water

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

ma

1. water

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

From Sanskrit म (ma, “1sg (base of oblique cases)”).

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma (personal, Perso-Arabic spelling مہ)

1. I (1sg nom, subject), me (1sg direct object)

• máa- (Forming one phonological word with following postposition or clitic, e.g. máathe 'me, to me' with the 'to'.)

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “ma”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[13], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “ma”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press

• IPA^(key): /maː/

mā

1. Subjunctive marker

   Nechilwijket ma nikinkwepili musta

   They told me to return it to them tomorrow

   Tikajkawat ma seseya pal tikwat

   We leave it to cool down so we can eat it

2. clipping of maka (Negative imperative marker)

   Ma shina kiuni!

   Don't say that!

• The particle ma helps disambiguating many of the subjunctive forms from the present indicative or imperative forms.

-má

1. clipping of -maka

ma

1. away

ma

1. if

• IPA^(key): /ˈma/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ma

ma

1. third-person singular present indicative of mieć

   Andrzej ma 18 lat. ― Andrzej is 18 years old.

ma

1. (literary) alternative form of moja

• ma in Polish dictionaries at PWN

• m'a (pre-standardization spelling)

• Hyphenation: ma

ma f sg

1. contraction of me +‎ a: feminine singular of mo

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Ashokan Prakrit 𑀫𑀸 (mā), from Sanskrit मा (mā).

ma

1. don't (prohibitive particle)

• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985), “māˊ”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 574
• Boretzky, Norbert; Igla, Birgit (1994), “ma¹”, in Wörterbuch Romani-Deutsch-Englisch für den südosteuropäischen Raum : mit einer Grammatik der Dialektvarianten [Romani-German-English dictionary for the Southern European region] (in German), Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 172a
• Marcel Courthiade (2009), “ma (and-e rokhimàta)”, in Melinda Rézműves, editor, Morri angluni rromane ćhibǎqi evroputni lavustik = Első rromani nyelvű európai szótáram : cigány, magyar, angol, francia, spanyol, német, ukrán, román, horvát, szlovák, görög [My First European-Romani Dictionary: Romani, Hungarian, English, French, Spanish, German, Ukrainian, Romanian, Croatian, Slovak, Greek] (overall work in Hungarian and English), Budapest: Fővárosi Onkormányzat Cigány Ház--Romano Kher, →ISBN, page 231a

ma

1. obsolete form of mai

• ma in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

ma

1. and

Cognate with Māori me and Hawaiian me.

ma

1. and
2. because

ma

1. with

Inherited from Sanskrit मया (mayā), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *máyaH.

ma

1. I; first-person singular personal pronoun

• Knobloch, Nina (2020), A grammar sketch of Sauji: An Indo-Aryan language of Afghanistan‎^[14], Stockholm: Stockholm University

• IPA^(key): /ma/, /mə/

ma

1. alternative form of my

• “my, poss. adj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 23 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

From Old Irish má, from Proto-Celtic *mā, *ma (compare Cornish and Breton mar), see there for more.

ma

1. if

   Ma tha thu ’g iarrraidh sin… ― If you want that…

   Ma bhios tu…/Ma bhitheas tu… ― If you will be…/If you are… (habitual)

• Where followed by the ‘future’ tense, the corresponding relative verb-form is used.

  Dèan e, ma thogras tu.

  Do it, if you want.

• In the conditional tense, instead of ma, nan/nam is used in positive sentences and mura/mur/mana in negative ones.

From Italian ma, reinforced by Ancient Greek μά (má); both ultimately from Latin magis.

• IPA^(key): /mâ/
• Hyphenation: m‧a

mȁ (Cyrillic spelling ма̏)

1. bah, whatever
2. Placed at the beginning of a sentence to add intensity and surprise

   Ma kako?! ― How?!

   Ma gdje? ― Where in the world...?

   Ma da? ― Really?

   Ma to je on! ― That's definitely him!

3. Placed at the beginning of a sentence to express dismissal and indignation

   Ma ne. ― No way.

   Ma daj. ― Oh come on.

   Ma kakvi. ― Impossible.

4. Used to emphasize sarcasm

   Ma da!/Ma svakako!/Ma naravno! ― Yeah, sure.

   Ma nemoj. ― Oh you don't say?

   Ma nikad niste vi krivi. ― Of course it can never be your fault.

Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma.

ma

1. not, no; negative particle

• M. Prins, A Grammar of rGyalrong, Jiǎomùzú (Kyom-kyo) Dialects: A Web of Relations (2016) (and earlier A Web of Relations: A Grammar of rGyalrong, Jiǎomùzú (Kyom-kyo) Dialects, 2011)

• mňa

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *mę.

• IPA^(key): /ma/, [ma]
• Rhymes: -a

ma

1. genitive/accusative of ja

ma f (plural mas)

1. (Latin America) mum; mom

• “ma”, 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

ma

1. romanization of 𒈠 (ma)

mà

1. water

• 1999, Michael Bryant, Aspects of Tirmaga Grammar (in notes, as ma)
• Michael Bryant, A Brief Grammar of the Suri Language (2011) (as mà)

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

-́ma

1. to stand
2. to stop, to wait

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ma/ [mɐ]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ma

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜋ (ma).

ma (Baybayin spelling ᜋ)

1. the name of the Latin script letter M/m, in the Abakada alphabet

   Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) em, (in the Abecedario) eme

• mama

Clipping of mama.

ma (Baybayin spelling ᜋ) (informal, familiar, childish)

1. term of address for one's mother: mom; mum; mommy; mummy; momma; maw

   Synonyms: nay, inay, mama, ina, inang, nanay

   Coordinate term: pa

ma (Baybayin spelling ᜋ)

1. (zoology) mollusk with a shell that looks like a coat of mail

• “ma”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

• am

ma

1. and

ma

1. with

ma

1. alternative form of ma'a

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Cognate with Persian ماه (mâh).

ma

1. moon

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [maː˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [maː˦˥]

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“dog”). Cognate with Thai หมา (mǎa), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨾᩣ, Lao ໝາ (mā), Tai Dam ꪢꪱ, Lü ᦖᦱ (ṁaa), Shan မႃ (mǎa), Tai Nüa ᥛᥣᥴ (máa), Aiton မ︀ႃ (mā), Ahom 𑜉𑜠 (ma), Zhuang ma, Saek หม่า.

ma (Nôm form 𬍄)

1. (zoology) dog

• cẩu

• Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[15][16] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Dương Nhật Thanh; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎^[17] (in Tày and Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học xã hội [Social Sciences Publishing House]

From Vietnamese ma.

ma (Nôm form 魔)

1. ghost

From Proto-Vanikoro *ma, from Proto-Oceanic *lima, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *lima, from Proto-Austronesian *lima.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. arm
2. hand

• François, Alexandre. 2021. Teanu dictionary (Solomon Islands). Dictionaria 15. 1-1877. DOI:10.5281/zenodo.5653063. – entry ma.
• François, Alexandre. 2021. Online Teanu–English dictionary, with equivalents in Lovono and Tanema. Electronic files. Paris: CNRS. – entry ma.
• Lackey, W.J.. & Boerger, B.H. (2021), “Reexamining the Phonological History of Oceanic's Temotu subgroup”, in Oceanic Linguistics.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. relative clause introducer; which, that

   Synonym: yang

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

ma

1. (Toaripi, Kaipi, Sepoe) water

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

• IPA^(key): [ma]
• Hyphenation: ma

From Proto-Polynesian *ma. Cognates include Māori mā and Samoan ma.

ma

1. Joins noun clauses; and, with
   • 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau [Constitution of Tokelau]‎^[18], page 1:

     Ko te fakavae tenei e matea i nā nuku ma kafai ona tagata e faifaimea fakatahi, ma nonofo fakatahi i te filemu ma te fiafia.

     This foundation is recognised in the villages and if its people repeatedly do things together, and [if] they live together in peace and happiness.

2. Joins verb clauses; and, also, too
   • 1948, Tūlāfono fakavae a Tokelau [Constitution of Tokelau]‎^[19], page 1:

     Ko te fakavae tenei e matea i nā nuku ma kafai ona tagata e faifaimea fakatahi, ma nonofo fakatahi i te filemu ma te fiafia.

     This foundation is recognised in the villages and if its people repeatedly do things together, and [if] they live together in peace and happiness.

From Proto-Polynesian *ma.

ma

1. from, away from

ma

1. Marks a prospective role of the subject; as, for

• R. Simona, editor (1986), Tokelau Dictionary‎^[20], Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 198

ma

1. not

From Proto-Finnic *maa, from Proto-Uralic *mëxe.

ma

1. earth
2. ground
3. soil
4. land, country, region
5. state

Inflection of ma (inflection type 13/ma)
nominative sing.	ma
genitive sing.	man
partitive sing.	mad
partitive plur.	maid
	singular	plural
nominative	ma	mad
accusative	man	mad
genitive	man	maiden
partitive	mad	maid
essive-instructive	man	main
translative	maks	maikš
inessive	mas	maiš
elative	maspäi	maišpäi
illative	maha	maihe
adessive	mal	mail
ablative	malpäi	mailpäi
allative	male	maile
abessive	mata	maita
comitative	manke	maidenke
prolative	madme	maidme
approximative I	manno	maidenno
approximative II	mannoks	maidennoks
egressive	mannopäi	maidennopäi
terminative I	mahasai	maihesai
terminative II	malesai	mailesai
terminative III	massai	—
additive I	mahapäi	maihepäi
additive II	malepäi	mailepäi

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “грунт, держава, земля, почва, свет, страна”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[21], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Sino-Vietnamese word from 魔.

The modern Vietnamese usage of ma (“ghost”) and quỷ (“demon; ogre”) is contrary to that of Mandarin 魔 (mó, “demon”) and 鬼 (guǐ, “ghost”). This can be exemplified in the pair ma đói vs. 餓鬼 / 饿鬼 (ngạ quỷ, “preta”).

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [maː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [maː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [maː˧˧]

(classifier con) ma

1. ghost (spirit appearing after death)
2. (archaic) a demon

   Synonym: quỷ

3. (chiefly in the negative, colloquial, slightly vulgar) anyone

   Có thấy ma nào đâu!

   (I) don't see anyone!

ma

1. Sino-Vietnamese reading of 魔

• am

ma

1. (indefinite) one, they (indefinite third-person singular pronoun)

ma

1. water

• Bernard Comrie, Lucía Golluscio, Language Contact and Documentation (2015, →ISBN
• Bartolomé Tavera-Acosta, En el sur: (Dialectos indígenas de Venezuela) (1907)

• m-

ma

1. my

   Ma rahe hakaya.

   My brother runs.

   Natu ma tatutuma iji minajara? ^[1]

   Granny, have you not seen my wives?

2. me, accusative of iné

   Ma hube abuae.

   A snake bit me.

   Ihi ma isiko naonahara? ^[2]

   Don't you come with me?

• Focus, chapter 8: Warao and Urarina
• Languages with Wilf, Comparison: Warao vs. Warray

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. (animate) third-person possessive pronoun, its

   mene me mo oma ― this is his child (literally, “this (is) he his child”)

   da kabi mo gou ― the goat's leg

The possessive pronoun ma follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me, mi, or mo.

• me, mi, mo

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. (distal) that, those

   Synonym: mema

   Antonym: ne

   pala ma ilamo ― that house is large

   oma ma ― those children

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma

1. then

   toi ipongi, ma tasagal yo ― if it rains, then I won't go

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[22], Pacific linguistics

ma

1. me (first-person singular object pronoun)

• IPA^(key): [mɑ]

Probably related to Mandarin 麼／么 (me).

ma

1. what (interrogative)

From Mandarin 馬 / 马 (mǎ).

ma

1. horse

• Juha Janhunen, Marja Peltomaa, Erika Sandman, Xiawu Dongzhou (2008), Wutun (LINCOM's Descriptive Grammar Series), volume 466, LINCOM Europa, →ISBN
• Erika Sandman (2016), A Grammar of Wutun‎^[23], University of Helsinki (PhD), →ISBN

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

-̂ma

1. (intransitive) to halt
2. (intransitive) to stop

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• ummi

ma

1. alternative form of mye (“may”)
   • 1927, “THE FORTH MAN'S GRACE AFTER A SCANTY DINNER”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 137, line 2:

     When ye Lord plaase, He ma mend this,

     [When the Lord please, He may mend this,]

• Kathleen A. Browne (1927), “THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD.”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of lreland (Sixth Series)‎^[24], volume 17, number 2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 137

• Rhymes: -ma

ma

1. we; us (first-person plural personal pronoun)

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /ma˨˦/
• Tone numbers: ma¹
• Hyphenation: ma

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“dog”). Cognate with Thai หมา (mǎa), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨾᩣ, Lao ໝາ (mā), Lü ᦖᦱ (ṁaa), Tai Dam ꪢꪱ, Shan မႃ (mǎa), Tai Nüa ᥛᥣᥴ (máa), Aiton မ︀ႃ (mā), Ahom 𑜉𑜠 (ma), Saek หม่า.

ma (classifier duz, Sawndip forms 𬌫 or 獁 or 𬍄 or 𰡪 or 䭾 or 庅 or 犸 or 𭸱, 1957–1982 spelling ma)

1. dog

From Proto-Tai *ʰmaːᴬ (“to come”). Cognate with Thai มา (maa), Northern Thai ᨾᩣ (ma), Lao ມາ (mā), Lü ᦙᦱ (maa), Tai Nüa ᥛᥣᥰ (mäa), Shan မႃး (máa), Aiton မ︀ႃ (mā), Ahom 𑜉𑜠 (ma) or 𑜉𑜡 (mā) or 𑜉𑜡𑜠 (māa).

ma (Sawndip forms 庲 or ⿸广末 or 么 or 麻 or ⿸广处 or 𮜃 or ⿰么馬 or ⿰㐅馬 or 𫹞 or 駡, 1957–1982 spelling ma)

1. to come back; to return

• maz

From Proto-Bantu *-jɪ́ma.

-má

1. (intransitive) to stand, to be standing
2. (intransitive) to stand still, to not move
3. (intransitive) to stop, to come to a standstill, to halt

• -mi
• isimo
• umumo

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