ah
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
mid-1400s Old Frankish (replacing English la).
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
- An expression of relief, relaxation, comfort, confusion, understanding, wonder, awe, etc. according to uttered inflection.
- Ah, I understand now.
- Ah! It's good to be back home!
- Ah, the flowers of spring.
- A syllable used to fill space, particularly in music.
- 2008, Britney Spears (lyrics and music), “Womanizer”:
- Boy don't try to front, uh, I
Know just, just, what you are, ah, ah.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
|
Noun edit
ah (plural ahs)
- An instance of the interjection ah.
- the crowd's oohs and ahs at the fireworks
Verb edit
ah (third-person singular simple present ahs, present participle ahing, simple past and past participle ahed)
- To give a cry of "ah".
- 2005, T. R. Rhoads, Sinner, Sailor: A Memoir, page 221:
- Mother and dad oohed and ahed over Cindy. She was only two months old but already was developing her personality.
Pronoun edit
ah (personal pronoun, plural we, possessive adjective mah)
- Pronunciation spelling of I, most often indicating that the speaker is using a Scottish or American (particularly Southern) accent.
Etymology 2 edit
From Hokkien 啊 (--a), Teochew 啊 (a7), Mandarin 啊 (a).
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Particle edit
- Marks a tag question prompting the listener to clarify something.
- You're dyslexic ah? ― So you're dyslexic?
- 2020 April 12, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, in SG Talk[1], archived from the original on 18 April 2020:
- Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?
- Used for emphasis; reinforces a short wh-question.
- 2011 October 23, Rachel Chang, “LifeStyle”, in The Sunday Times, page 15:
- See how lor. Who’s going ar?
- Emphasizes the need for absolute confirmation or acknowledgment.
- Don't drink and drive ah...
- 2010 April 18, Colin Goh, “LifeStyle”, in The Sunday Times, page 24:
- Sure, ah? Thanks, man, pai seh.
- A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.
See also edit
References edit
- “ah”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
- “ah”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- Lim, L. (2004) Singapore English: A grammatical description[2], John Benjamins Publishing, →ISBN, page 121
Anagrams edit
Afar edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
áh
Declension edit
Declension of áh | ||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
absolutive | áh | |||||||||||||||||
predicative | áha | |||||||||||||||||
subjective | áh | |||||||||||||||||
genitive | ahtí | |||||||||||||||||
|
See also edit
References edit
- E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “ah”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
- Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)[3], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)
Albanian edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Albanian *aksa, from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃s- (“ash”) (compare Greek οξιά (oxiá, “beech”), Armenian հածի (haci), English ash).
Noun edit
ah m (plural ahe, definite ahu, definite plural ahet)
Hyponyms edit
Further reading edit
Chickasaw edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Adverb edit
ah
Danish edit
Etymology edit
Partly borrowed from German, English, French, from Latin ah (“ah”), from Proto-Indo-European *ā. Partly also onomatopoeic.
Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål ah, English ah, German ah, French ah and Latin ah.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
- used to express pleasure, e.g. because something tastes good or feels nice
- Coordinate terms: mm, mums, namnam
- ah, sikken en dejlig pandekage
- ah what a delicious pancake
- Synonym: uhm
- used to express pleasant surprise
- "ah, velkommen Albert," sagde Sickert til prinsen
- "ah, welcome Albert," said Sickert to the prince
- Synonym: minsandten
- used to express reservations, slight disagreement, doubt etc.
- bliver man også nervøs? Ah ikke så meget
- do you get nervous too? Ah, not so much
- Synonym: arh
References edit
- “ah” in Den Danske Ordbog
Anagrams edit
Esperanto edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Interjection edit
ah
Finnish edit
Etymology edit
Found in a wide variety of languages, including but not limited to Estonian ah, Ingrian ah, Karelian ah, Ludian ah, Veps ah, Votic ah, Hungarian ah, Swedish ah, German ah, English ah, Latin ah. Tracing an exact origin is effectively impossible. Probably ultimately involuntary or natural.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
Further reading edit
- “ah”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish][5] (online dictionary, continuously updated, in Finnish), Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
Anagrams edit
French edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Old French a! (“oh! ah! woe!”), of expressive origin.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
Derived terms edit
References edit
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “ah”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Further reading edit
- “ah”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
- ah (expression of understanding, etc.)
References edit
- “ah” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “ah” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “ah” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
German edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
- Rhymes: -aː
Interjection edit
ah
- expressing understanding
- expressing contentment
Further reading edit
Hokkien edit
For pronunciation and definitions of ah – see 鴨 (“duck”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 鴨). |
For pronunciation and definitions of ah – see 矣 (“particle expressing completion”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 矣). |
Hungarian edit
Etymology edit
Involuntary expression of emotions: surprise, impatience, desire, sadness, refusal.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
- ah
- 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 1 [6]
- 1599-1601, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 1 [6]
References edit
- ^ ah 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.)
Further reading edit
- ah in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- ah in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)
Indonesian edit
Etymology edit
Unknown
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
- oh, expresses compassion, surprise and dismay
Further reading edit
- “ah” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Ingrian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Ultimately a natural sound. Compare Finnish ah and Estonian ah.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
References edit
- Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 3
Italian edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /ˈa/, which may be preceded and/or followed by [h] or [ʔ]. It also may trigger syntactic gemination.[1]
- Rhymes: -a
- Hyphenation: ah
Interjection edit
ah
References edit
- ^ ah in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
Anagrams edit
Juǀ'hoan edit
Pronunciation edit
Letter edit
ah (upper case Ah)
- A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Latin edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ā or perhaps *h₂eh₂.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
āh
References edit
- ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011) Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, revised and corrected by Michiel de Vaan, 2nd edition, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 250
Further reading edit
- “ah”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “ah”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Mokilese edit
Noun edit
ah
- (one's) thing
Usage notes edit
Like many terms in Mokilese, ah has no non-possessive form; the third person singular possessive form (one's/his/her/its thing) is therefore treated as the lemma.
Declension edit
singular possessor | first person | oai | |
---|---|---|---|
second person | oamw | ||
third person | ah | ||
dual possessors | first person inclusive | asa | |
first person exclusive | ama | ||
second person | amwa | ||
third person | ara | ||
plural possessors | first person inclusive | asai | |
first person exclusive | amai | ||
second person | amwai | ||
third person | arai | ||
remote plural possessors | first person inclusive | ahs | |
first person exclusive | imi | ||
second person | imwi | ||
third person | ahr | ||
construct form | in |
Old English edit
Pronunciation edit
Conjunction edit
ah
Palikur edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
ah n or f
References edit
- Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN
Pohnpeian edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
ah
- The name of the Latin-script letter A.
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
ah
- shark mullet (Rhinomugil nasutus), at a growth stage of approximately twelve inches
Etymology 3 edit
Conjunction edit
ah
- however, and, then
- I sukuhl, ah e doadoahk.
- I went to school, and he worked.
- Ma Soulik pahn iang, ah I sohte pahn iang.
- If Soulik goes, then I won't.
- I sukuhl, ah e doadoahk.
Etymology 4 edit
Alternative forms edit
Determiner edit
ah
- his, her, hers, its, third person singular possessive pronoun
- Liho iang ah pwoud.
- The woman joined her husband.
- Liho iang ah pwoud.
Etymology 5 edit
Interjection edit
ah
Portuguese edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah!
Quotations edit
For quotations using this term, see Citations:ah.
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Interjection edit
ah
Somali edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb edit
ah
- (intransitive) To be
Spanish edit
Etymology edit
Imitative, similar to French ah.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
ah
Related terms edit
Further reading edit
- “ah”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
Anagrams edit
Sumerian edit
Romanization edit
ah
- Romanization of 𒄴 (aḫ)
Swedish edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Interjection edit
ah
Anagrams edit
Tulu-Bohuai edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ah
Further reading edit
- Bohuai
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
Vilamovian edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Interjection edit
ah
Zou edit
Etymology edit
From earlier *ak (whence the possessive forms), from Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔaar (“chicken”). Cognates include Khumi Chin ae and Mizo ár.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
ah
- fowl
- (specifically) chicken (Gallus gallus)
Derived terms edit
References edit
- Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 49