vara

See also: Vara, VARA, vara-, vară, varā, vára, vāra, våra, văra, and вара

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”).

Noun

vara (plural varas)

1. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of length, equivalent to about 83.7 cm.
2. (historical) A traditional Portuguese unit of length, equivalent to about 1.1 m.
3. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of area, equivalent to about 0.7 m².

Synonyms

• (Spanish unit of length): Spanish rod, Spanish ell, Spanish yard, rod, ell, yard (Spanish contexts)
• (Portuguese unit of length): Portuguese rod, Portuguese ell, Portuguese yard, rod, ell, yard (Portuguese contexts)

Coordinate terms

• (Spanish unit of length): coto (⅛ vara), palmo (¼ vara), pie (⅓ vara), codo (½ vara), Spanish pace (1⅔ pies), estado, braza, or toesa (2 varas), estadal (4 varas), cordel (50 varas), legua (5000 varas)
• (Portuguese unit of length): polegada (1/40 vara), palmo (⅕ vara), Portuguese foot (0.3 vara), covado (⅗ vara), yard, rod, ell (English equivalents to the vara), passo (1½ varas), toesa (1.8 varas), braça (2 varas)
• (unit of area): fanega (100 varas), labor (1,000,000 varas)

Anagrams

• Avar

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ɾə/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ˈba.ɾə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ɾa/

Noun

vara f (plural vares)

1. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod, ell, or yard, a traditional unit of length

Coordinate terms

• peu (⅓ vara), pas or passa (1⅔ varas), braça (2 varas)

Derived terms

• tenir vara alta
• vara d'or
• vareta

 

Further reading

• “vara” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “vara”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
• “vara” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “vara” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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Estonian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *warā-, compare Swedish vara, German Ware, English ware. Cognate to Finnish vara and Livonian varā.

Noun

vara (genitive vara, partitive vara)

1. property, estate, goods; things belonging to a person or organisation

Inflection

Inflection of vara (ÕS type 17/elu, no gradation)

	singular	plural
nominative	vara	varad
accusative	vara	varad
genitive	vara	varade
partitive	vara	varasid
illative	varra varasse	varadesse
inessive	varas	varades
elative	varast	varadest
allative	varale	varadele
adessive	varal	varadel
ablative	varalt	varadelt
translative	varaks	varadeks
terminative	varani	varadeni
essive	varana	varadena
abessive	varata	varadeta
comitative	varaga	varadega

Derived terms

• kaasavara
• tarkvara

Etymology 2

From Proto-Baltic *vāras, compare Lithuanian voras (“old”). Cognate to Finnish varhain.

Adverb

vara (comparative varem)

1. early

   Antonym: hilja

Derived terms

• varajane
• varakult

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Faroese

Etymology

From Middle Low German waren.

Verb

vara (third person singular past indicative vardi, third person plural past indicative vart, supine vart)

1. to take, last, require (about time)

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (group v-1)
infinitive	vara
supine	vart
participle (a7)1	varandi	vardur
	present	past
first singular	vari	vardi
second singular	varir	vardi
third singular	varir	vardi
plural	vara	vardu
	imperative
singular	var!
plural	varið!
1Only the past participle being declined.

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Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vara (compare Estonian vara), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *waraz and *warō (compare Swedish vara (“goods”), vara (“care”), English ware, wary and aware); the two Germanic words both ultimately come from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover, heed, notice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
• Syllabification^(key): va‧ra

Noun

vara

1. reserve, backup

   Mäyrä tarvitsee paksun rasvakerroksen talven varaksi. ― A badger needs a thick layer of fat as a reserve for winter.

   Minulla on ylimääräinen tulppa varalla. ― I have an extra plug as backup.

2. (in the plural) (natural) resources, (natural) reserves

   Irakilla on suuret öljyvarat. ― Iraq has large oil reserves.

   Synonym: luonnonvarat

3. (in the plural) stores, stocks, reserves

   Synonym: varasto

4. (usually in the plural) funds, means, assets, savings

   Minulla ei ole tähän varaa. ― I can't afford this. (literally, “I don't have the funds for this.”)

   Synonyms: rahat, maksukyky (literally “ability to pay”), (asset) varallisuus

5. (usually in the singular) room, margin; allowance

   Muista jättää kutistumisen varaa. ― Remember to leave an allowance for shrinking.

   Meillä ei ole varaa virheisiin. ― We have no margin for errors.

6. (mostly in idioms and proverbs) caution, concern, care; often translated into English with an adjective, see also pitää varansa

   Pidä varasi, ettet putoa. ― Be careful so that you don't fall.

   Ei vara venettä kaada. ― Caution does not overturn a boat. (proverb)

   Synonym: varovaisuus

7. (woodworking) a tool for cutting long grooves into (the bottoms of) logs for fitting, or for drafting where the grooves will be cut

   Synonym: varausrauta

Declension

Inflection of vara (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation)
nominative		vara	varat
genitive		varan	varojen
partitive		varaa	varoja
illative		varaan	varoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		vara	varat
accusative	nom.	vara	varat
	gen.	varan
genitive		varan	varojen varainrare
partitive		varaa	varoja
inessive		varassa	varoissa
elative		varasta	varoista
illative		varaan	varoihin
adessive		varalla	varoilla
ablative		varalta	varoilta
allative		varalle	varoille
essive		varana	varoina
translative		varaksi	varoiksi
instructive		—	varoin
abessive		varatta	varoitta
comitative		—	varoineen

Possessive forms of vara (type kala)
possessor	singular	plural
1st person	varani	varamme
2nd person	varasi	varanne
3rd person	varansa

Derived terms

• elää yli varojensa = to live beyond one's means
• heittäytyä (+ genitive +) varaan = to bank on, count on, depend on
• jättää sattuman varaan = to leave to chance/contingency
• kaiken varalta = just in case, just to make sure, to be on the safe side
• (allative +) olla varaa (+ illative; verb always in third person singular) = to be able to/can afford

  Minulla ei ole varaa autoon.

  I can't afford a car.

• olla varalla = to be in reserve/store, be at hand, be (readily) available
• olla (+ genitive +) varassa = to rest on (physically), to rely/depend on (figuratively)
• olla (+ genitive +) varoissaan = to be wealthy, be well-to-do, be flush
• pitää varansa = to watch out, watch one's step, be on one's guard, keep one's eyes open
• rakentua (+ genitive +) varaan = to be based on, be founded on, be grounded in
• siltä varalta, että... = in case (something happens)
• adjectives: varainen, -varaisuus, varakas, varaton
• adverbs: varaan, -varaisesti, varakkaasti, varalla, varalle, varalta, varassa, varasta
• nouns: varaamo, varallisuus, varanto, varasto, varat, varattomuus, varauma, varaus
• verbs: varata, varautua, varoa, varoittaa
• prefixes: vara-

Compounds

This table also contains terms prefixed with vara-.

compounds

• hätävara
• jakovara
• joustovara
• järjestelyvara
• kasvunvara
• kutistumisvara
• käsivara
• liikkumavara
• liikkumisvara
• luonnonvara
• maavara
• pelivara
• saumanvara
• saumavara
• säätövara
• takavara
• tasausvara
• työvara
• valinnanvara
• vara-amiraali
• vara-avain
• varahenkilö
• varainhankinta
• varainhoitaja
• varainhoito
• varainhoitokausi
• varainhoitovuosi
• varainkeruu
• varainkeräys
• varainkerääjä
• varainsiirtovero
• varajohtaja
• varajäsen
• varalaskupaikka
• varallaolo
• varallaoloaika
• varallaolopäivystys
• varamiehinen
• varamiehistö
• varamiehitys
• varamies
• varanotaari
• varaosa
• varaosamyyjä
• varaosamyymälä
• varapoistumistie
• varapresidentti
• varapuheenjohtaja
• varapuhemies
• varapyörä
• varapääministeri
• vararahasto
• vararavinto
• vararehtori
• varareitti
• vararengas
• varareservi
• vararikko
• varatie
• varatoimitusjohtaja
• varattu
• varattu-ääni
• varatuomari
• varauloskäynti
• varauloskäytävä
• varavarjo
• varaventtiili
• varavoimakone
• varavoimala
• vierasvara

 

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Galician

Etymology

From Old Galician and Old Portuguese vara (“rod”) attested in the 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria, from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɾa̝/

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

1. a long and thin stick, pole or rod

   Synonym: valoira

2. shoot; twig
3. (historical, measure) vara, especially as a cloth yard, a former unit of length
   • 1335, M. Lucas Álvarez & P. Lucas Domínguez (eds.), El monasterio de San Clodio do Ribeiro en la Edad Media: estudio y documentos. Sada / A Coruña: Edicións do Castro, page 463:

     que den a uos Eluira Perez en uossa vida de tres en tres annos çinquo varas de valacyna noua ou os dineiros para ella, quantos ella custar enna tenda

     they should give you, Elvira Pérez, throughout your life each three years, five yards of new Valencian cloth or the money for them, whatever it costs in the store

Coordinate terms

• (unit of length): pé (⅓ vara), paso (1⅔ varas), braza (2 varas)

Derived terms

• vara de ourol
• vara fragueira
• varal
• varanca
• varear
• varela

 

References

• “vara” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “vara” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “vara” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “vara” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “vara” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

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Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːra/

  Rhymes: -aːra

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vara.

Noun

vara f (genitive singular vöru, nominative plural vörur)

1. article, commodity
2. (in the plural form) goods, wares, freight, commodities, merchandise

Declension

declension of vara

f-w1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vara	varan	vörur	vörurnar
accusative	vöru	vöruna	vörur	vörurnar
dative	vöru	vörunni	vörum	vörunum
genitive	vöru	vörunnar	vara	varanna

Derived terms

• vöruheiti

plural form

• aðrar neytendavörur en matvæli (“non-food product”)
• afritunarvörur (“reprographic supplies”)
• alþjóðasamningur um viðskipti með mjólkurvörur (“International Dairy Agreement”)
• Bandalagsvörur (“Community goods”)
• blekvörur (“ink products”)
• brauðvörur (“bakery products, bread products, baker's wares”)
• búnaður til að meðhöndla vörur (“goods-handling equipment”)
• efnislegar fjárfestingarvörur (“tangible capital goods”)
• efnislegar vörur (“tangible goods”)
• einnota vörur (“disposable articles”)
• endursendar vörur (“returned consignments”)
• fiskveiðivörur (“articles for fishing”)
• fjárfestingarvörur (“capital goods, investment goods”)
• flugeldavörur (“pyrotechnic articles”)
• flugeldavörur (“pyrotechnics”)
• fótsnyrtivörur (“pedicure preparations”)
• framleiðsluvörur (“manufactured goods”)
• fullunnar vörur (“compensating products, final goods”)
• förðunarvörur (“make-up preparations”)
• gerð vörureikninga (“invoicing”)
• gerjaðar drykkjarvörur (“fermented beverages”)
• gullsmíðavörur (“goldsmiths'' wares”)
• handsnyrtivörur (“manicure preparations”)
• handverksvörur (“handicraft supplies”)
• hálfunnar vörur (“intermediate goods”)
• háraflitunarvörur (“hair bleaches”)
• hárlitunarvörur (“hair tints”)
• hárvörur (“articles for use with the hair”)
• hjúkrunarvörur (“medical goods”)
• hreingerningavörur (“cleaning products”)
• hreinlætisvörur (“toilet articles”)
• hreinsaðar olíuvörur (“refined petroleum products”)
• innfluttar vörur (“imported products”)
• innlendar vörur (“domestic goods”)
• íþróttavörur (“sports goods”)
• járnsmíðavörur (“blacksmiths' wares”)
• járnvörur (“hardware, ironmongery”)
• kornvörur (“cereals”)
• körfugerðarvörur (“basketware”)
• leðurvörur (“leather articles, leather goods”)
• leirvörur (“crockery”)
• markaðskynningarvörur (“promotion products”)
• markaður með notaðar vörur (“second-hand market”)
• millistigsvörur (“intermediary goods”)
• mjólkurvörur (“lactic products”)
• munaðarvörur (“luxury goods”)
• nefnd um textílvörur (“Textiles Committee”)
• neysluvörur sem ekki eru varanlegar (“consumer non-durables”)
• notaðar vörur (“second-hand goods”)
• of hár vörureikningur (“over invoicing”)
• óunnar vörur (“goods in the unaltered state”)
• pakki sem inniheldur tóbaksvörur (“unit packet of tobacco products”)
• rafeindavörur (“electronic supplies”)
• raftæknivörur (“electrotechnical supplies”)
• rafvörur (“electrical goods”)
• rafvörur til sérstakra nota (“special-purpose electrical goods”)
• rekstrarvörur (“consumables, supplies, production supplies”)
• rekstrarvörur til blóðlækninga (“haematological consumables”)
• rekstrarvörur til lækninga (“medical consumables”)
• rekstrarvörur til nota við geislagreiningar (“radiodiagnostic supplies”)
• rekstrarvörur til nota við sjúkdómsgreiningar (“diagnostic supplies”)
• rekstrarvörur til tannlækninga (“dental consumables”)
• samkeppnisvörur (“competitive products”)
• samlímdar vörur (“laminated products”)
• samningur um textílvörur og fatnað (“Agreement on Textiles and Clothing”)
• samsvarandi vörur (“corresponding goods”)
• silfursmíðavörur (“silversmiths' wares”)
• skattfrjálsar vörur (“tax-free goods”)
• skrifstofuvörur (“office supplies”)
• skömmtunarvél fyrir hreinlætisvörur (“sanitary dispensing machine”)
• smíðavörur (“smiths' wares”)
• snyrtivörur (“cosmetics, toiletry, toilet preparations, cosmetic articles”)
• snyrtivörur í duftformi (“powdered cosmetics”)
• sokkavörur (“hosiery”)
• steypuvörur úr hita- og þrýstihertri frauðsteypu (“autoclaved aerated concrete products”)
• steypuvörur úr léttri frauðsteypu (“lightweight aerated concrete products”)
• stoðtækjavörur (“orthopaedic supplies”)
• sviknar vörur (“counterfeit goods”)
• sælkeravörur (“delicatessen”)
• sætabrauð og brauðvörur (“pastry-cook product”)
• tankskip fyrir unnar olíuvörur (“product tanker”)
• tágasmíðavörur (“wickerwork”)
• textílvörur til innanhússnota (“interior textiles”)
• tollar á útfluttar vörur (“customs duties on exports”)
• tóbaksvörur (“tobacco goods”)
• tómstundavörur (“recreational goods”)
• trésmíðavörur (“carpentry”)
• tölvuvörur (“computer supplies”)
• unnar kornvörur (“cereal preparations”)
• upplýsingavörur (“information products”)
• útvega vörur (“supply goods”)
• varanlegar neysluvörur (“consumer durables”)
• veiðivörur (“articles for hunting”)
• viðskipti með framleiðsluvörur (“trade in products”)
• vísindanefnd um neysluvörur (“Scientific Committee on Consumer Products”)
• vísindanefnd um snyrtivörur og aðrar neytendavörur en matvæli (“Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers”)
• vörur af ólíkum uppruna (“items of mixed provenance”)
• vörur á vörubrettum (“palletised goods”)
• vörur bundnar í stroffu (“pre-slung goods”)
• vörureikningur (“invoice”)
• vörur frá löndum utan Bandalagsins (“non-Community goods”)
• vörur í dósum (“canned products”)
• vörur í gámum (“containerised freight”)
• vörur í krukkum (“jarred products”)
• vörur í tengslum við gagnagrunna (“database goods”)
• vörur í umbúðum (“packaged goods”)
• vörur í vistarverur manna (“furnishing articles”)
• vörur sem framleiddar eru til eigin neyslu (“goods produced for own consumption”)
• vörur sem greinarmunur er á (“differentiated products”)
• vörur sem nota orku (“energy-using products”)
• vörur sem tengjast menningu (“cultural goods”)
• vörur sem þjóna tvenns konar tilgangi (“dual-purpose products, dual-use goods”)
• vörur til að meðhöndla nýrnasjúklinga (“renal consumables”)
• vörur til einkanota (“personal goods”)
• vörur til heimilisnota (“household goods”)
• vörur til hreinlætisnota (“toilet requisites”)
• vörur til listsköpunar (“art supplies”)
• vörur til veitingarekstrar (“catering supplies”)
• vörur til æðamyndatöku (“angiography supplies”)
• vörur úr hertu gleri (“toughened glassware”)
• vörur úr jurtaríkinu (“vegetable products”)
• vörur úr keramíkgleri (“ceramic glassware”)
• vörur úr vefleysu (“articles made from non-wovens”)
• yfirlýsing á vörureikningi (“invoice declaration”)

 

Etymology 2

From Old Norse vara, from Proto-Germanic *warōną.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varaði, supine varað)

1. (transitive, governs the accusative) to warn

   Synonym: gefa aðvörun

Conjugation

vara — active voice (germynd)

infinitive (nafnháttur)		að vara
supine (sagnbót)		varað
present participle (lýsingarháttur nútíðar)		varandi
	indicative (framsöguháttur)			subjunctive (viðtengingarháttur)
present (nútíð)	ég vara	við vörum	present (nútíð)	ég vari	við vörum
	þú varar	þið varið		þú varir	þið varið
	hann, hún, það varar	þeir, þær, þau vara		hann, hún, það vari	þeir, þær, þau vari
past (þátíð)	ég varaði	við vöruðum	past (þátíð)	ég varaði	við vöruðum
	þú varaðir	þið vöruðuð		þú varaðir	þið vöruðuð
	hann, hún, það varaði	þeir, þær, þau vöruðu		hann, hún, það varaði	þeir, þær, þau vöruðu
imperative (boðháttur)	vara (þú)	varið (þið)
	Forms with appended personal pronoun
	varaðu	variði *
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

varast — mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive (nafnháttur)		að varast
supine (sagnbót)		varast
present participle (lýsingarháttur nútíðar)		varandist ** ** the mediopassive present participle is extremely rare and normally not used; it is never used attributively or predicatively, only for explicatory subclauses
	indicative (framsöguháttur)			subjunctive (viðtengingarháttur)
present (nútíð)	ég varast	við vörumst	present (nútíð)	ég varist	við vörumst
	þú varast	þið varist		þú varist	þið varist
	hann, hún, það varast	þeir, þær, þau varast		hann, hún, það varist	þeir, þær, þau varist
past (þátíð)	ég varaðist	við vöruðumst	past (þátíð)	ég varaðist	við vöruðumst
	þú varaðist	þið vöruðust		þú varaðist	þið vöruðust
	hann, hún, það varaðist	þeir, þær, þau vöruðust		hann, hún, það varaðist	þeir, þær, þau vöruðust
imperative (boðháttur)	varast (þú)	varist (þið)
	Forms with appended personal pronoun
	varastu	varisti *
* Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

varaður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)				plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)		masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	varaður	vöruð	varað		varaðir	varaðar	vöruð
accusative (þolfall)	varaðan	varaða	varað		varaða	varaðar	vöruð
dative (þágufall)	vöruðum	varaðri	vöruðu		vöruðum	vöruðum	vöruðum
genitive (eignarfall)	varaðs	varaðrar	varaðs		varaðra	varaðra	varaðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)				plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)		masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	varaði	varaða	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
accusative (þolfall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
dative (þágufall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu
genitive (eignarfall)	varaða	vöruðu	varaða		vöruðu	vöruðu	vöruðu

Derived terms

• varaðu þig
• vara sig
• vara sig á
• varast
• vara við

 

Etymology 3

From Middle Low German waren (whence also Swedish vara, Norwegian vare, Danish vare), from Proto-Germanic *wazōną.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (intransitive) to last, to continue, to go on

   Hvað varir þetta lengi? ― How long will this last?

   Synonym: standa

2. (intransitive) to last, to endure, to be permanent

   Synonym: endast

Etymology 4

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (impersonal) to expect
   • 1990, the song Það sést ekki sætari mey ("None sweeter than me can be seen") from the album Gling-Gló by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar (Lyrics)

     Og fyrr en mig varði

     hver strákur á mig starði

     eins og stelpur á gleym-mér-ei

     Before I would know it

     every boy would stare at me

     the way girls do at forget-me-nots

   Gestirnir komu fyrr en mig varði.

   The guests arrived earlier than expected.

Derived terms

• þá er minnst varði (“suddenly, unexpectedly”)

Etymology 5

Noun

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of var

Etymology 6

Noun

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of vör

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Ingrian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *waraz. Cognates include Finnish vara and Estonian vara.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
• Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

Noun

vara

1. protection, safety
2. property, possession
3. alertness, awareness

Declension

Declension of vara (type 3/kana, no gradation, gemination)
	singular	plural
nominative	vara	varat
genitive	varan	varroin
partitive	varraa	varoja
illative	varraa	varroi
inessive	varas	varois
elative	varast	varoist
allative	varalle	varoille
adessive	varal	varoil
ablative	varalt	varoilt
translative	varaks	varoiks
essive	varanna, varraan	varoinna, varroin
exessive1)	varant	varoint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

Derived terms

• varamuna

 

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 640

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Italian

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/
• Rhymes: -ara
• Hyphenation: và‧ra

Adjective

vara

1. feminine singular of varo

Verb

vara

1. inflection of varare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• avrà

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Jamtish

Etymology

From Old Norse vera (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *wesaną; see there for further details.

Pronunciation

• (Western dialects) IPA^(key): [²ʋæːɾɐ], [¹ʋæ]
• (Hackås) IPA^(key): [¹ʋæː]
• (Ragunda) IPA^(key): [²ʋæra]
• (Fors) IPA^(key): [²ʋaɾa]

Verb

vara

1. to be

Declension

Conjugation of vara — active (irregular)

infinitive	vara
present participle	varann, varanes
past participle	―
supine	verið
indicative	present	past
	er	var
subjunctive	present	past
	veri	vóre
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	var
1st-person plural	varum
2nd-person plural	varin, varan

---

Karelian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Germanic.

Noun

vara

1. reserve

---

Ladino

Etymology

From Spanish vara, ultimately derived from Latin vāra.

Noun

vara f (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ב׳ארה‎, plural varas)

1. stick, rod, crossbar
2. (diminutive form, typography) The rafe lines in the shape of crossbars that can be used in Ladino orthography as diacritics on Hebrew script to alter the sound of letters to create new letters; a breve diacritic (˘) is placed on top of letters to form fricative consonant sounds, such as changing פ (/p/) into פﬞ (/f/); usually referred to by the diminutive varrica (“little crossbar”).

---

Latin

Etymology

From vārus.

Pronunciation

• vāra: (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯aː.ra/, [ˈu̯äːrä]
• vāra: (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/, [ˈväːrä]
• vārā: (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯aː.raː/, [ˈu̯äːräː]
• vārā: (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/, [ˈväːrä]

Noun

vāra f (genitive vārae); first declension

1. fork, forked branch
2. tripod, easel

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	vāra	vārae
Genitive	vārae	vārārum
Dative	vārae	vārīs
Accusative	vāram	vārās
Ablative	vārā	vārīs
Vocative	vāra	vārae

Descendants

• Catalan: vara
• Galician: vara
• Portuguese: vara
• Spanish: vara

Adjective

vāra

1. inflection of vārus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Adjective

vārā

1. ablative feminine singular of vārus

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Latvian

Etymology 1

See varš.

Noun

vara m

1. genitive singular form of varš

Etymology 2

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

Noun

vara f (4th declension)

1. power

Declension

Declension of vara (4th declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	vara	varas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	varu	varas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	varas	varu
dative (datīvs)	varai	varām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	varu	varām
locative (lokatīvs)	varā	varās
vocative (vokatīvs)	vara	varas

---

Northern Sami

Noun

vara

1. accusative/genitive singular of varra

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• varen

Noun

vara m or f

1. definite feminine singular of vare

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑː.rɑ/

Noun

vara m (definite singular varaen, indefinite plural varaer or varaar, definite plural varaene or varaane)

1. clipping of vararepresentant

Etymology 2

Verb

vara (present tense varar/varer, past tense vara/varte, past participle vara/vart, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

1. alternative form of vare

Etymology 3

Verb

vara (present tense varar, past tense vara, past participle vara, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

1. alternative form of vare

Noun

vara f

1. definite singular of vare

Etymology 4

Noun

vara n

1. definite plural of var

Etymology 5

Verb

vara

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of vera
   • 1949, Prøysen, Alf, Dørstokken heme [The Doorstep at Home], Høvik, page 20:

     Nå kunde det vara det samma med alt.

     Now, it could be all the same [to him].

References

• “vara” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• arva, raav, rava, vaar

---

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

• væra, væræ

Etymology

From Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera.

Verb

vara

1. To be
   1. to occupy a place, to be

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara

	present			past
infinitive	vara, væra			—
participle	vara			varin
active voice	indicative	subjunctive	imperative	indicative	subjunctive
iæk	æm, ær	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	—	var, uas	vāre
þū	æst	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	æ	vart, uast	vāre
han	ær	sē, sēi, sī, æri, væri	—	var, uas	vāre
vīr	ærum	sēin, varin, værin	ærum	vārom	vāre
īr	ærin	sēn, vari, værin	ærin	vārin	vāre
þēr	æru, æra, aru	sē	—	vāro	vāre

Descendants

• Swedish: vara

---

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative forms

• 𑀯𑀭 (Brahmi script)
• वर (Devanagari script)
• ৰর (Bengali script)
• වර (Sinhalese script)
• ဝရ (Burmese script)
• วร or วะระ (Thai script)
• ᩅᩁ (Tai Tham script)
• ວຣ or ວະຣະ or ວະລະ (Lao script)
• វរ (Khmer script)

Adjective

vara

1. excellent
2. noble

Declension

Declension table of "vara" (masculine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varo	varā
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	vare
Instrumental (third)	varena	varehi or varebhi
Dative (fourth)	varassa or varāya or varatthaṃ	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varasmā or varamhā or varā	varehi or varebhi
Genitive (sixth)	varassa	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varasmiṃ or varamhi or vare	varesu
Vocative (calling)	vara	varā

Declension table of "varā" (feminine)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varā	varāyo or varā
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	varāyo or varā
Instrumental (third)	varāya	varāhi or varābhi
Dative (fourth)	varāya	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varāya	varāhi or varābhi
Genitive (sixth)	varāya	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varāya or varāyaṃ	varāsu
Vocative (calling)	vare	varāyo or varā

Declension table of "vara" (neuter)

Case \ Number	Singular	Plural
Nominative (first)	varaṃ	varāni
Accusative (second)	varaṃ	varāni
Instrumental (third)	varena	varehi or varebhi
Dative (fourth)	varassa or varāya or varatthaṃ	varānaṃ
Ablative (fifth)	varasmā or varamhā or varā	varehi or varebhi
Genitive (sixth)	varassa	varānaṃ
Locative (seventh)	varasmiṃ or varamhi or vare	varesu
Vocative (calling)	vara	varāni

Derived terms

• adhivara
• anadhivara

Noun

vara m or n

1. wish, boon, favour

Declension

As the masculine or neuter of the adjective above, as appropriate.

Verb

vara

1. second-person singular imperative active of varati (“to desire”)

References

Pali Text Society (1921-1925), “vara”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ɾɐ/

• Rhymes: -aɾɐ
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Spanish vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

1. (historical, measure) vara, a Portuguese rod, yard or ell, a former unit of length about equal to 1.1 m
2. (historical, measure) square vara, a former unit of area about equal to 1.2 m²
3. a stick, a twig
4. a district court, an original court, a trial court/court of first instance
5. (collective) herd of pigs
6. (vulgar, slang) the penis

Synonyms

• (unit of area): vara quadrada

Coordinate terms

• (unit of length): polegada (1/40 vara), palmo (⅕ vara), pé (0.3 vara), côvado (⅗ vara), jarda (English equivalent, reckoned as 5/6 vara), passo (1½ vara), toesa (1.8 varas), braça (2 varas)
• (unit of area): palmo (1/25 vara), aguilhada (403⅓ varas), geira (4840 varas)

Derived terms

• varão
• varar
• varear
• varinha

 

See also

• milha, légua

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

1. inflection of varar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “vara” in iDicionário Aulete.
• “vara” in Dicionário inFormal.
• “vara” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “vara” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2023.
• “vara” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “vara” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

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Romanian

Etymology

From vară +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/

Adverb

vara

1. in the summer

Noun

vara f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of vară

---

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

vara (Cyrillic spelling вара)

1. genitive singular of var

---

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɾa/ [ˈba.ɾa]
• Rhymes: -aɾa
• Syllabification: va‧ra

Etymology 1

From Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

1. rod, pole, a long thin stick

   Synonyms: palo, bastón, barra

2. rod, a thin cane or branch

   Synonym: rama

3. rod, a staff of office
4. (bullfighting) lance
5. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod or yard, a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 83.7 cm
6. (historical, measure) vara, a square vara, a traditional unit of area equivalent to about 0.7 m²

   Synonym: vara cuadrada

7. yardstick, a straight-edge tool for measuring length
8. (figuratively) yardstick, a standard used to establish a baseline for measurements or comparisons

   Synonym: estándar

   • 2020 October 4, Franco Mizrahi, “La doble vara de la Corte Suprema de Justicia: los casos sensibles que posterga el máximo tribunal”, in El Destape‎^[1]:

     La inusual celeridad con la que la Corte Suprema de Justicia abordó el caso de los jueces Leopoldo Bruglia, Pablo Bertuzi y Germán Castelli expuso la doble vara con la que el Tribunal Supremo toma o deja los expedientes que le llegan.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Coordinate terms

• (unit of length): coto (⅛ vara), palmo (¼ vara), pie (⅓ vara), codo (½ vara), yarda (English equivalent), paso (1⅔ varas), estado, braza, or toesa (2 varas), estadal (4 varas), cordel (50 varas), legua (5000 varas)
• (sense of area): fanega (100 varas), manzana (10,000 varas)

Derived terms

• carne en vara
• dar la vara
• doble vara de medir
• vara mágica
• varar
• varazo
• varear
• varilla
• varita

 

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

1. inflection of varar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “vara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²vɑːra/, (verb, usually) /ˈvɑː/

• audio

  (file)

  • Pronunciation of the present tense form är usually varies between /eː/ and /ɛː/ depending on the accent. The pronunciation /ɛːr/, [æːɾ] also occurs, especially when it is stressed, in ceremonial speech, or increasingly also due to spelling pronunciation.
• Rhymes: -ɑː

Etymology 1

From Old Swedish vara, væra from Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera, Norwegian være.

Verb

vara (present är, preterite var, supine varit, imperative var)

1. To be
   1. to occupy a place, to be (somewhere)

      Var har du varit? ― Where have you been?

   2. to occur, to take place
   3. (rare) to exist
      • c. 1847, Carl August Hagberg, translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1601), act 3, scene 1

        Att vara eller icke vara, det är frågan:
        Månn’ ädlare att lida och fördraga
        Ett bittert ödes styng och pilar eller
        Att ta till vapen mot ett haf af qval

        To be or not to be– that is the question:
        Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
        The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
        Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

   4. (copulative) indicates that the subject and object are the same
   5. (copulative, mathematics) indicates that the values on either side of an equation are the same
   6. (copulative) indicates that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal
   7. (copulative) connects a noun to an adjective that describes it
      • 1917 translation, the Bible, Deuteronomy (Femte Mosebok), 1:26

        Men I villen icke draga ditupp, utan voren gensträviga mot HERRENS, eder Guds, befallning.

        Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.

   8. used to form the passive voice, when stressing the end result of the process
   9. (archaic) used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs

      Jag är uppstigen sedan en timme. ― I have been out of bed for an hour.

   10. used to indicate things like age, height, temperature, weather, ...

Usage notes

Although the past subjunctive in most verbs is viewed as dated (see: Appendix:Swedish verbs), vore is still very much in use by young speakers, even in informal or colloquial language.

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (irregular)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	vara		—
Supine	varit		—
Imperative	var		—
Imper. plural1	varen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	är	var	—	—
Ind. plural1	äro	voro	—	—
Subjunctive2	vare	vore	—	—
	Participles
Present participle	varande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

See also:

• äst (archaic second person singular indicative)
• ären (archaic second person plural indicative)
• voren (archaic second person past plural indicative)

Alternative forms

• va (strongly colloquial)

Synonyms

• (occupy a place): befinna sig, finnas, ligga, sitta, stå
• (to exist): finnas, finnas till, existera, vara till
• (to create passive voice): bli (when putting stress on the process), varda (archaic, only still commonly used in the past tense form vart)

Related terms

• närvara
• närvaro
• tillvaro
• vara med
• vara till
• vara till för
• var så god, varsågod
• övervara

 

Noun

vara n

1. existence, being

   Varats olidliga lätthet ― The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984 novel by Milan Kundera)

Declension

Declension of vara
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	vara	varat	—	—
Genitive	varas	varats	—	—

Derived terms

• icke-vara

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish vara, from Middle Low German waren, from Old Saxon waron, from Proto-Germanic *warōną. Cognate with Danish vare.

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

1. to last

   Mötet varade flera timmar. ― The meeting lasted several hours.

   Mjölken varar längre i kylskåpet. ― The milk will last longer in the fridge.

   Synonyms: fortfara, hålla på, pågå

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	vara		—
Supine	varat		—
Imperative	vara		—
Imper. plural1	varen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	varar	varade	—	—
Ind. plural1	vara	varade	—	—
Subjunctive2	vare	varade	—	—
	Participles
Present participle	varande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• bevara
• förvara
• varaktig

 

Etymology 3

From Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vari, cognate with Danish vare, possibly from an unattested Old Swedish *vari (“care”), related to Icelandic vari (“caution, carefullness”), but influenced by Middle Low German ware namen, related to German wahren, wahrnehmen.

Noun

vara c

1. care

   ta vara på ― take care of, keep, not throw away, not waste

   ta sig till vara ― be careful, beware

Usage notes

• Only used in expressions like the ones in the usage examples above.

Derived terms

• ta tillvara

Etymology 4

From Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vara, from Middle Low German ware. Cognate with Danish vare, German Ware, English ware. Could be related to Sanskrit वर (vara, “valuable”).

Noun

vara c

1. a ware, goods, article

Declension

Declension of vara
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	vara	varan	varor	varorna
Genitive	varas	varans	varors	varornas

Related terms

• apoteksvara
• basvara
• beställningsvara
• bristvara
• bruksvara
• byggvara
• bytesvara
• charkuterivara
• charkvara
• dagligvara
• dryckesvara
• dussinvara
• ersättningsvara
• exportvara
• fabriksvara
• frysvara
• färdigvara
• färskvara
• förbrukningsvara
• galanterivara
• gottköpsvara
• handelsvara
• hygienvara
• hårdvara
• importvara
• industrivara
• insatsvara
• järnvara
• kapitalvara
• kilovara
• kolonialvara
• konditorivara
• konsumtionsvara
• kvalitetsvara
• kylvara
• köttvara
• lockvara
• manufakturvara
• maskinvara
• matvara
• mejerivara
• metervara
• mjukvara
• märkesvara
• nödvändighetsvara
• programvara
• pälsvara
• reavara
• råvara
• specerivara
• stapelvara
• starkvara
• substitutvara
• surrogatvara
• sällanköpsvara
• säsongsvara
• sötvara
• textilvara
• tobaksvara
• torrvara
• trikåvara
• trävara
• utskottsvara
• vardagsvara
• varubelåning
• varubeställning
• varubeteckning
• varubil
• varubrist
• varubud
• varubuss
• varubörs
• varudeklaration
• varudeklarera
• varudistribution
• varuexport
• varufakta
• varuförsörjning
• varugrupp
• varuhiss
• varuhus
• varuimport
• varuintag
• varukorg
• varukännedom
• varulag
• varulager
• varumängd
• varumärke
• varumässa
• varunamn
• varuparti
• varupris
• varuproduktion
• varuprov
• varuskatt
• varuslag
• varusmuggling
• varusortiment
• varutrafik
• varutransport
• varuutbyte
• varuvagn
• vitvara
• våtvara

 

Etymology 5

Attested since 1664. From var (“pus”) +‎ -a.

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

1. to generate pus

   Såret började vara efter några timmar. ― The wound began to fill with pus after a few hours.

Conjugation

Conjugation of vara (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	vara		varas
Supine	varat		varats
Imperative	vara		—
Imper. plural1	varen		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	varar	varade	varas	varades
Ind. plural1	vara	varade	varas	varades
Subjunctive2	vare	varade	vares	varades
	Participles
Present participle	varande
Past participle	—
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

References

• vara in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• vara in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

• avar

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Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Germanic. Cognates include Finnish vara.

Noun

vara

1. stock, store, inventory
2. resource
3. asset

Inflection

Inflection of vara (inflection type 5/sana)
nominative sing.	vara
genitive sing.	varan
partitive sing.	varad
partitive plur.	varoid
	singular	plural
nominative	vara	varad
accusative	varan	varad
genitive	varan	varoiden
partitive	varad	varoid
essive-instructive	varan	varoin
translative	varaks	varoikš
inessive	varas	varoiš
elative	varaspäi	varoišpäi
illative	varaha	varoihe
adessive	varal	varoil
ablative	varalpäi	varoilpäi
allative	varale	varoile
abessive	varata	varoita
comitative	varanke	varoidenke
prolative	varadme	varoidme
approximative I	varanno	varoidenno
approximative II	varannoks	varoidennoks
egressive	varannopäi	varoidennopäi
terminative I	varahasai	varoihesai
terminative II	varalesai	varoilesai
terminative III	varassai	—
additive I	varahapäi	varoihepäi
additive II	varalepäi	varoilepäi

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “запас, ресурс, состояние, средство, фонд”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

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Westrobothnian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɑːra/

Verb

vara

1. Alternative present plural form of vera in sothern dialects.