was

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Translingual

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Symbol

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was

  1. (international standards)ISO 639-2&ISO 639-3language codeforWasho.

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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FromMiddle Englishwas,fromOld Englishwæs,fromProto-Germanic*was,(compareScotswas,West Frisianwas(dated,wieis generally preferred today),Dutchwas,Low Germanwas,Germanwar,Swedishvar), fromProto-Indo-European*h₂we-h₂wós-e(compareKamkata-virivos-,Sanskritउवास(uvā́sa)), from*h₂wes-(to reside),whence alsovestal.The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive formbeis fromProto-Indo-European*bʰuH-(to become).The formsisandareare both derived fromProto-Indo-European*h₁es-(to be).Lastly, the past forms starting withw-such aswasandwereare fromProto-Indo-European*h₂wes-(to reside).

Pronunciation

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(stressed)

(unstressed)

Verb

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was

  1. first-personsingularsimplepastindicativeofbe.
    Iwascastigatedand scorned.
  2. third-personsingularsimplepastindicativeofbe.
    Itwasa really humongous slice of cake.
  3. (nowcolloquial)Used in phrases with existentialtherewhen the semantic subject is (usually third-person) plural.
    Therewasthree of them there.
  4. (nowcolloquialornonstandard,African-American Vernacular)second-personsingularsimplepastindicativeofbe;were.
  5. (colloquial,nonstandard)first-personpluralsimplepastindicativeofbe;were.
    • 2001,Darrel Rachel,The Magnolias Still Bloom,page104:
      “What happened here, Hadley?” the chief asked. “Wewasrobbed, damn it, we was robbed.”
  6. (colloquial,nonstandard,African-American Vernacular)third-personpluralsimplepastindicativeofbe;were.
    • 1968,Etta James, Ellington Jordan, Billy Foster (lyrics and music), “I'd Rather Go Blind”, performed byEtta James:
      When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now baby / Revealed the tears thatwason my face, yeah
    • 2006,Noire[pseudonym],Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale,New York, N.Y.:One World,Ballantine Books,→ISBN,page24:
      Take or be taken. Get yours or get got. It was the code of the streets and I'd lived by it. The way thingswaslooking, I was prolly gone die by it too.

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Afrikaans

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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was(uncountable)

  1. wax

Verb

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was

  1. pastofwees

Verb

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was(presentwas,present participlewassende,past participlegewas)

  1. towash

Banda

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Noun

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was

  1. water

References

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Cebuano

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Etymology

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Slang variant ofwala

Pronoun

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was

  1. (slang,informal)nothing;none

Adjective

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was

  1. (informal)absent

Dutch

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DutchWikipediahas an article on:
Wikipedianl

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Cognate withEnglishwash.

Noun

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wasm(pluralwassen,diminutivewasjen)

  1. laundry,clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Negerhollands:wasch,was

Etymology 2

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FromOld Dutch*was,fromProto-Germanic*wahsą.Cognate withGermanWachs,Englishwax,Danishvoks,Swedishvax.

Noun

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wasmorn(pluralwassen)

  1. wax
  2. growth
Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Cognate withEnglishwas.

Verb

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was

  1. singularpastindicativeofzijn
  2. singularpastindicativeofwezen

Etymology 4

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See the etymology of the correspondinglemmaform.

Verb

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was

  1. inflection ofwassen:
    1. first-personsingularpresentindicative
    2. (in case ofinversion)second-personsingularpresentindicative
    3. imperative

Anagrams

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German

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Alternative forms

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  • wat(colloquial in western and parts of northern Germany)

Etymology

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FromMiddle High Germanwaz,fromOld High Germanwaz,hwaz,fromProto-Germanic*hwat,fromProto-Indo-European*kʷod.Cognate withBavarianwas,wås,Silesian East Central Germanwoas(was),Dutchwat,Englishwhat,Danishhvad.Doubletofwat.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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was

  1. (interrogative)what
    Wasmachst du heute?
    Whatare you doing today?
  2. (relative)which(referring to the entire preceding clause)
    Sie tanzte gut,waser bewunderte.
    She was a good dancer,whichhe admired.
  3. (relative)that,which(referring todas,alles,etwas,nichts,and neuter substantival adjectives)
    Das ist alles,wasich weiß.
    That's allthatI know.
    Das ist das Beste,wasmir passieren konnte.
    That's the bestthatcould have happened to me.
  4. (relative,colloquial)that,which(referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standarddas)
    Siehst du das weiße Haus,wasrenoviert wird?
    Do you see that white house,whichis being renovated?
  5. (indefinite,colloquial)something,anything(instead of standardetwas)
    Ich habwasgefunden.
    I've foundsomething.
    • 2017,Simone Meier,Fleisch,Kein & Aber, published2018,page39:
      Er wollte Annawasantun.
      He wanted to do something to Anna.
  6. (interrogative,dated)why(with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval)
    Wasbirgst du so bang dein Gesicht?
    Why on earthare you hiding your face so fearfully?

Usage notes

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  • Wasis colloquially used with prepositions, chiefly but not exclusively in southern regions. Otherwise it is generally replaced with a pronominal adverb containingwo-(or in a few caseswes-). Hence:Womithast du das gemacht?(With whatdid you do that?),instead ofMit washast du das gemacht?,andweswegeninstead ofwegen was.
  • The genitive case, and the dative case if necessary for clearness, can be paraphrased by means ofwelcherSache(what thing).Possessivegenitives are more commonly paraphrased withwovon(of what).It is also possible to use the genitive formwessen,but it wouldn't be used in questions such asWessenist das?because here it would be understood as the genitive form ofwer.
  • The colloquialwasmeaning "something" can only be the first word in a sentence if followed by an adjective:WasWichtiges fehlt noch.(Somethingimportant is missing.)Otherwise the full formetwasmust be used:Etwas fehlt noch.(Something is missing.)The reason for this is that the latter sentence could be misinterpreted as a question ifwaswere used.

Declension

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Declension ofwas
nominative was
genitive wessenor(dated)wes
dative
accusative was

Derived terms

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Determiner

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was

  1. (archaic)what;whatkindof
    Synonym:was für
    • 1718,Johann Caspar Schwartz,Johann Caspar Schwartzens Fünfftes Dutzend Wund-artzneyischer Anmerckungen von vielerley Arten der Geschwülste und Geschwüre,Hamburg, page97:
      [...] denen Thieren und Gewächsen aber, vonwasArten und Geschlechten selbige auch nur immer seyn mögen, [...]
      (pleaseadd an English translationof this quotation)
    • 1742,Johann Christoph Gottsched,Versuch einer Critischen Dichtkunst,Leipzig, page442:
      Held August, du kühner Krieger! / Du bist der beglückte Sieger, / Vor, und in, und nach dem Fall. / AufwasArten, aufwasWeisen, / Soll man deine Thaten preisen / Hier und da, und überall?
      (pleaseadd an English translationof this quotation)
    • 1786,Johann Michael Schosulan,Gründlicher Unterricht für das Landvolk: Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen etrunkenen, erhängten, erstickten, erfrornen, von Hitze verschmachteten und von Blitz berührten unglücklichen Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten, der Retter aber für sein eigenes Leben sich selbst sicher stellen solle.,Wien, title:
      Wie und aufwasWeise jedermann seinen [...] Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten [...] solle.
      (pleaseadd an English translationof this quotation)

Usage notes

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  • In the dative and genitive feminine, the inflected formwaseroccurred.

Adverb

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was

  1. (colloquial)Clipping ofetwas.
    Ich kommwasspäter.
    I'll arrivea littlelater.
  2. (interrogative,colloquial)why,what for
    Synonyms:warum,wieso,weshalb
    Wasbist du heute so stumm?
    Whyare you so silent today?

Gothic

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Romanization

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was

  1. Romanization of𐍅𐌰𐍃

Gros Ventre

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Noun

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was

  1. bear

Hunsrik

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Etymology

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FromMiddle High Germanwaz,fromOld High Germanwaz,hwaz,fromProto-Germanic*hwat,fromProto-Indo-European*kʷod.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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was

  1. (interrogative)what
    Wasmachst-du?
    Whatare you doing?
  2. (relative)what
    Was-ich net esse, essd de Hund.
    WhatI don't eat, the dog eats.
  3. (indefinite)something,anything
    Nochwas?
    Anythingelse?

See also

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Further reading

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Javanese

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Romanization

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was

  1. Romanization ofꦮꦱ꧀

Low German

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Verb

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was

  1. first-personsingularsimplepastindicativeofwęsen
  2. third-personsingularsimplepastindicativeofwęsen
  3. apocopatedform ofwasse(wash),second-personsingularimperativeofwassen(mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialects' wasche/waske)
  4. apocopatedform ofwasse(wax),second-personsingularimperativeofwassen
  5. apocopatedform ofwasse(grow),second-personsingularimperativeofwassen

Usage notes

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Notes on the verbwęsen(to be): In recent times (~1800) the oldsubjunctiveweris used in place ofwasby many speakers. This might be the old subjunctive which is now used as apreteriteor a reduction ofweren,which is the preterite plural indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognatewar.Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower Saxony that usewerforwas,maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way" -nature of the situation no form can be named "standard" for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.

Lower Sorbian

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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was

  1. genitiveofwy
  2. accusativeofwy
  3. locativeofwy

Mayangna

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Noun

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was

  1. water
  2. stream,river

References

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  • Smith,Ethnogeography of the Mayangna of Nicaragua,inEthno- and historical geographic studies in Latin America: essays honoring William V. Davidson(2008), page 88: The location of 46 settlements from this list containing the term” was "—meaning" water "or" stream "— were obtained[.]

Middle Dutch

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Verb

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was

  1. first/third-personsingularpastindicativeofwēsen

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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FromOld Englishwæs(first/third person singular indicative past ofwesan), fromProto-Germanic*was(first/third person singular indicative past of*wesaną).

Verb

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was

  1. first/third-personsingularpastindicativeofbeen
    • c.1375,“Book VI”, inIohne Barbour,De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß[](The Brus,Advocates MS. 19.2.2)‎[1],Ouchtirmunſye:Iohannes Ramſay, published1489,folio 21, recto,lines431-434;republished atEdinburgh:National Library of Scotland,c.2010:
      Thyꝛwall þ[at]wasþ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly
      Thirlwall, whowastheir commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.
  2. (dialectal)second-personsingularpastindicativeofbeen
  3. (dialectal)pluralpastindicativeofbeen
Descendants
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Etymology 2

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Pronoun

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was

  1. Alternative form ofwhos(whose,genitive)

Middle Low German

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Alternative forms

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Verb

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was

  1. first/third-personsingularpreteriteindicativeofwēsen

Old English

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Alternative forms

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Verb

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was(Northumbrian)

  1. first/third-personsingularpreteriteofbēon
  2. first/third-personsingularpreteriteofwesan

Old High German

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Alternative forms

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Verb

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was

  1. first/third-personsingularpastindicativeofwesan

Old Javanese

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Root

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was

  1. Alternative spelling ofwās(clear)

Etymology 2

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(Thisetymologyis missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

Noun

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was

  1. name of a day in the six-day week

Etymology 3

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(Thisetymologyis missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

Particle

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was

  1. emphatic or descriptive particle

Further reading

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

Pennsylvania German

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Etymology

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FromMiddle High Germanwaz,fromOld High Germanwaz,hwaz,fromProto-West Germanic*hwat.

CompareGermanwas,Dutchwat,Englishwhat.

Pronoun

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was

  1. (interrogative)what

Polish

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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was

  1. genitive/accusative/locativeofwy

Proto-Norse

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Romanization

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was

  1. Romanization ofᚹᚨᛊ

Scots

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Noun

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was

  1. pluralofwa

Seychellois Creole

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Etymology

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FromFrenchouest.

Noun

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was

  1. west

References

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  • Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet,Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français

Somali

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Verb

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was

  1. fuck

Descendants

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Spanish

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Etymology

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FromWhatsApp.

Noun

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wasm(pluralwas)

  1. amessagesent or received overWhatsApp
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Tagalog

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Clippingofwala+‎-s.

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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was(Baybayin spellingᜏᜐ᜔)

  1. (gayslang)nothing;none
    Synonyms:wala,(gay slang)waley

Further reading

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  • Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993)Tagalog Slang Dictionary,Manila: De La Salle University Press,→ISBN,page155

Tok Pisin

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Etymology

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FromEnglishwatch.

Verb

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was

  1. angel;anysupernaturalcreatureinheavenaccording toChristiantheology
    • 1989,Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin,Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea,Jenesis3:24:
      God i rausim pinis man na meri, na em i makim ol strongpela ensel bilong sanap nawasi stap long hap sankamap bilong gaden Iden. Na tu em i putim wanpela bainat i gat paia i lait long en na i save tanim tanim long olgeta hap. Oltaim ol dispela ensel wantaim dispela bainat i savewasi stap, nogut wanpela man i go klostu long dispela diwai bilong givim laip.
      →New International Version translation

Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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was

  1. Soft mutation ofgwas.

Mutation

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Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
gwas was ngwas unchanged
Note:Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Yola

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Verb

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was

  1. Alternative form ofwaas(was)
    • 1867,“A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,number 3, page84:
      At by mizluckwasee-pit t'drive in.
      Who by misluckwasplaced to drive in.
    • 1867,“A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,number 4, page84:
      Zitch blakeen, an blayeen, fan ee ballwasee-drowe!
      Such bawling and shouting, when the ballwasthrown!
    • 1867,“THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,number 1, page94:
      Aarwasa weddeen ee Ballymore,
      Therewasa wedding in Ballymore,
  2. Alternative form ofwaas(were)
    • 1867,“A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,number 4, page84:
      Joud an moud vrem earchee etewasee Lough.
      Throngs and crowds from each quarterwereat the Lough;
    • 1867,“A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,number 5, page86:
      Mot w'all aar boust, hi soonwasee-teight
      But with all their bravado theyweresoon taught
    • 1867,“THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,page93:
      Aarwaspizzeen, an beanès, an barich amang.
      Therewerepease and beans, and barley-mung.
    • 1867,“THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY,page93:
      Aarwasbidaades an heereen.
      Therewerepotatoes and herrings;

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland,London: J. Russell Smith, published1867