lá

See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"

Faroese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɔɑː/
• Rhymes: -ɔɑː
• Homophone: lág
• Rhymes: -ɔaː

Verb

lá

1. first/third-person singular past of liggja

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlaː]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -laː

Noun

solmisation

lá (plural lák)

1. la, a syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale

   Coordinate terms: dó, ré, mi, fá, szó, ti

Declension

Its inflected forms are uncommon.

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	lá	lák
accusative	lát	lákat
dative	lának	láknak
instrumental	lával	lákkal
causal-final	láért	lákért
translative	lává	lákká
terminative	láig	lákig
essive-formal	láként	lákként
essive-modal	lául	—
inessive	lában	lákban
superessive	lán	lákon
adessive	lánál	láknál
illative	lába	lákba
sublative	lára	lákra
allative	lához	lákhoz
elative	lából	lákból
delative	láról	lákról
ablative	lától	láktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	láé	láké
non-attributive possessive – plural	láéi	lákéi

Possessive forms of lá

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	lám	láim
2nd person sing.	lád	láid
3rd person sing.	lája	lái
1st person plural	lánk	láink
2nd person plural	látok	láitok
3rd person plural	lájuk	láik

or (as a means of distinction from certain inflected forms of lát (“to see”))

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	lá	lá-k
accusative	lá-t	lá-kat
dative	lá-nak	lá-knak
instrumental	lá-val	lá-kkal
causal-final	lá-ért	lá-kért
translative	lá-vá	lá-kká
terminative	lá-ig	lá-kig
essive-formal	lá-ként	lá-kként
essive-modal	lá-ul	—
inessive	lá-ban	lá-kban
superessive	lá-n	lá-kon
adessive	lá-nál	lá-knál
illative	lá-ba	lá-kba
sublative	lá-ra	lá-kra
allative	lá-hoz	lá-khoz
elative	lá-ból	lá-kból
delative	lá-ról	lá-król
ablative	lá-tól	lá-któl
non-attributive possessive – singular	lá-é	lá-ké
non-attributive possessive – plural	lá-éi	lá-kéi

Possessive forms of lá

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	lá-m	lá-im
2nd person sing.	lá-d	lá-id
3rd person sing.	lá-ja	lá-i
1st person plural	lá-nk	lá-ink
2nd person plural	lá-tok	lá-itok
3rd person plural	lá-juk	lá-ik

Further reading

• (Hungarian) An article on solfège with hand signs

Anagrams

• ál

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lauː/
• Rhymes: -auː

Etymology 1

From Old Norse *lá, from Proto-Germanic *lahaną (“to blame”).

Verb

lá (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative láði, supine láð)

1. to blame

   Ég lái Önnu það ekki.

   I don't blame Anna for it.

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Verb

lá

1. first/third-person singular past indicative active of liggja

Etymology 2

From Old Norse lá, from Proto-Germanic *lahō, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus.

Noun

lá f (genitive singular lár, nominative plural lár)

1. the part of the sea near to the shore
2. billow (large wave)

Declension

Declension of lá (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lá	láin	lár	lárnar
accusative	lá	lána	lár	lárnar
dative	lá	lánni	lám	lánum
genitive	lár	lárinnar	láa	lánna

Further reading

• “lá” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish lá.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /l̪ˠɑː/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /l̪ˠaː/
• Homophone: láth

Noun

lá m (genitive singular lae, nominative plural laethanta)

1. day

Declension

Declension of lá (irregular)

bare forms singular plural nominative lá laethanta vocative a lá a laethanta genitive lae laethanta dative lá ló (archaic, dialectal) laethanta laethantaibh (archaic, dialectal) forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an lá na laethanta genitive an lae na laethanta dative leis an lá leis an ló (archaic, dialectal) don lá don ló (archaic, dialectal) leis na laethanta leis na laethantaibh (archaic, dialectal)

• Alternative genitive singular: laoi (archaic, dialectal)
• Alternative plural: laetha, laethe (archaic, dialectal)
• Alternative dative plural: laethibh (archaic, dialectal)

Derived terms

• ardlá
• breithlá
• go lá dheireadh an domhain
• go maire tú an lá!
• Lá Aibreáin
• Lá an Dreoilín
• Lá an tSléibhe
• lá arna mhárach
• lá breithe
• lá breithe maith agat!
• lá breithe sona dhuit!
• lá féile / Lá Fhéile
• lá margaidh
• Lá na nAmadán
• lá níocháin
• Lá San Vailintín
• lá saoire
• lá sorcais

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “lá”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “lá”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “lá”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

Mandarin

Alternative forms

• la — nonstandard

Romanization

lá (la², Zhuyin ㄌㄚˊ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 拉
2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 揦
3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 旯
4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 砬
5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 磖
6. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 邋

Navajo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɑ́/

Particle

lá

1. it occurred to me (emphasizes a statement, or turns it into an exclamation, usually indicating recently discovered knowledge)

   Ashxoshgo tłʼízí shichʼahkʼįįʼí yę́ę sitsʼą́ą́ʼ yiyííłchozh lá. ― While I was sleeping the goat ate my straw hat.

Derived terms

• lágo

Old Irish

Etymology 1

Unknown. Thurneysen has tried to derive this term from the contraction of its synonym laithe, itself from Proto-Celtic *latyom, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁t- (“warm part of the year”), and cognate with Proto-Slavic *lěto n (“summer, year”). Hence, in the original versions of the Dictionary of the Irish Language, lá and laithe were formerly given in the same entry. However, Stifter remains skeptical of this etymology (and believes that the two words are not closely related at all), and eventually the 2019 edition of DIL separated the two terms into separate entries.

Alternative forms

• láa, lae

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l͈aː(e)/

Noun

lá n (genitive laí, nominative plural lá or láa or lae)

1. day, daylight

   Synonym: laithe

   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 25^c6

     Hóre ammi maicc laí et soilse, ná seichem nahísiu.

     Since we are children of day and light, let us not follow these things.

2. (in adverbial phrases) Denoting point in time.

Usage notes

This noun, when used as a temporal reference, only referred to daytime. To refer to an event taking place across the course of a calendar day or more, a matching number of aidchi (“nights”) must be additionally specified. For example, an event occurring over three days would occur over trí láa ocus teora aidchi "three days and three nights" in Old Irish.

Inflection

Neuter io-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa
vocative	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa
accusative	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa
genitive	laí	lá, lae, láa	lá, lae, láa
dative	láu, láo, ló	láib	láib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• lá brátha

Descendants

• Irish: lá
• Manx: laa
• Scottish Gaelic: là, lò

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “lá”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *layeti, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁- (“to leave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l͈aː/

Verb

·lá (verbal noun -l)

1. unattested by itself; takes various preverbs to form verbs

Derived terms

Terms derived from ·lá

• ad·comla
• con·lá
• do·inóla
• do·lá
• in·lá

Mutation

Mutation of lá

radical	lenition	nasalization
lá also llá after a proclitic ending in a vowel	lá pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Norse

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *lahō, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus.

Noun

lá f (genitive lár, plural lár)

1. the line of the shoal water along the shore

Declension

Declension of lá (strong ō-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lá	láin	lár	lárnar
accusative	lá	láina	lár	lárnar
dative	lá	láinni	lám	lánum
genitive	lár	lárinnar	lá	lánna

Descendants

• Icelandic: lá

Further reading

• Richard Cleasby, Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874) “lá”, in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 1st edition, Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press, page 376
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “lá”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 262; also available at the Internet Archive

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

lá

1. first/third-person singular past active indicative of liggja

Polish

Pronunciation

• (Lesser Poland):
  • (Podegrodzie) IPA^(key): /lɒ/

Preposition

lá

1. (Podegrodzie) Alternative form of dla

Further reading

• Karol Mátyás (1891) “lá”, in “Słowniczek gwary ludu zamieszkującego wschodnio-południową najbliższą okolicę Nowego Sącza”, in Sprawozdania Komisyi Językowej Akademii Umiejętności (in Polish), volume 4, Kraków: Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, page 324

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈla/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈla/

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

• Audio (Northern Portugal):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: lá

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese ala, from Latin ad (“to”) + illāc (“that way”).

Alternative forms

• là, lâ (obsolete)

Adverb

lá (not comparable)

2. there (in that place, far from both the speaker and the audience)

   Synonym: acolá

   Antonyms: aqui, cá

   Coordinate terms: aí, ali

   Minha casa fica lá. ― My house is located there.

4. used with an adverb phrase to indicate that something is far

   O Santo Graal está lá no topo do castelo. ― The Holy Grail is on top of the castle.

   A verdade está lá fora. ― The truth is out there.

5. used to emphasize a relative distant point in the past or in the future

   Os portugueses chegaram ao Brazil lá no século XV (quinze). ― The Portuguese arrived in Brazil back in the 15th century.

   Não se preocupa, ele só vai viajar lá em dezembro. ― Don't worry, he'll only travel in December.

7. (informal, in negative phrases) that; particularly (to a significant extent)

   Synonyms: de fato, na verdade, realmente

   Para andorinhas, carregar cocos não é lá tão difícil. ― For swallows, carrying coconuts isn’t that hard.

9. (informal, in interrogative phrases) even (expresses intensified disagreement with a previous sentence)

   Synonym: por acaso

   E ele lá entende o que você diz? ― And does he even understand what you say?

Usage notes

• ali also means there, but implies a relatively close location. aí is also translated as there but it is used for things close to the audience.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:lá.

Derived terms

• de lá para cá
• e olhe lá
• para lá de
• para lá de Bagdá
• sei lá

See also

Portuguese demonstratives

		pronouns					adverbs
		singular		plural		neuter
		masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
proximal	X	este	esta	estes	estas	isto	aqui, cá
	de + X	deste	desta	destes	destas	disto	daqui
	em + X	neste	nesta	nestes	nestas	nisto	—
medial	X	esse	essa	esses	essas	isso	aí
	de + X	desse	dessa	desses	dessas	disso	daí
	em + X	nesse	nessa	nesses	nessas	nisso	—
distal	X	aquele	aquela	aqueles	aquelas	aquilo	ali, lá, acolá
	de + X	daquele	daquela	daqueles	daquelas	daquilo	dali, dacolá
	em + X	naquele	naquela	naqueles	naquelas	naquilo	—
	a + X	àquele	àquela	àqueles	àquelas	àquilo
anaphoric	X	o	a	os	as	—	—
	de + X	do	da	dos	das
	em + X	no	na	nos	nas
	a + X	ao	à	aos	às

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian la, from the first syllable of Latin labiī (“lip’s”).

Noun

lá m (plural lás)

2. (music) la (sixth note of a major scale, in solfège)

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:lá.

Coordinate terms

• do, ré, mi, fá, sol, si, dó

Etymology 3

Interjection

lá

2. meaningless syllable used in joyful singing

   Trá-lá-lá-lá-lá. ― Tra-la-la-la-la

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *s-laːʔ, from Proto-Austroasiatic *slaʔ. Cognate with Thavung ซะล้า, Khmer ស្លា (slaa, “areca”), Bahnar hla, Mon သၠ (hlaˀ), Khasi sla, Semai sela. Related to Chinese 茶 (chá) (tea), which was a Loloish loan that in turn was borrowed from Austroasiatic.

Doublet of trà and chè.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laː˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laː˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laː˦˥]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Noun

(classifier chiếc) lá • (蘿, 𦲿)

1. leaf

   Synonym: lá cây

   Chiếc lá cuối cùng ― The Last Leaf

Derived terms

• lá cây
• lá chắn
• lá lách
• lá lành đùm lá rách
• lá lốt
• lá mía
• lá ngón
• lá sách
• lễ lá
• lớp lá
• nhà lá
• nón lá
• sán lá
• thông rụng lá
• thuốc lá
• xanh như tàu lá chuối
• xỏ lá

Classifier

lá • (蘿, 𦲿)

1. Used for thin and flat and/or leaf-like objects, such as letters, cards, flags, leaf-shaped organs (such as the liver, the lungs, the spleen, the pancreas), etc.

   lá thư/bài/cờ/gan ― a letter/card/flag/liver

   Rừng mưa A-ma-dôn là lá phổi xanh của Trái Đất.

   The Amazon rainforest is the green lung of the Earth.

Adjective

lá • (蘿, 𦲿)

1. (rare, literary) green