Basque

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Etymology

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Probably related to m-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Non-productive prefix without a specific meaning.

Usage notes

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In words where this prefix can be found, it takes the place of the first syllable of the original word, usually with no change in meaning (compare udare and madari, both meaning "pear"). It is likely that originally this was an expressive prefix, and that many Basque words starting with ma- contain this prefix, with the original word having been lost.

References

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  • ma-” in Etymological Dictionary of Basque by R. L. Trask, sussex.ac.uk

Bikol Central

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. Used to form adjectives indicating a quality
    ma- + ‎linig (to clean) → ‎malinig (clean)
  2. Object IV trigger infinitive verb prefix
    ma- + ‎dumog (wet) → ‎madumog (to become wet)
  3. Object trigger to have done something; to be able to do something
    ma- + ‎tapos (finish) → ‎matapos (to be able to finish something)
    Natapos kong basahon an libro kasubanggi.I was able to finish reading the book last night.
  4. Object trigger to perform the action of the verb unintentionally
    ma- + ‎pasa (broken, break) → ‎mapasa (to break something unintentionally)
    Napasa ko an salming.I unintentionally broke the mirror. Compare it when used with the suffix -on:
    pasa (broken, break) + -onpasaon (to break something on purpose)
    Pinasa ko an salming.I broke the mirror on purpose.
  5. to form the future tense of the verb.

Cebuano

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. Used to form adjectives indicating a quality
  2. Used to form the future tense of a verb

Hausa

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Etymology

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Cognate to the set of prefixes found in Arabic: مُ (mu) for agentive participles, مَ (ma) for locatives, and مِ (mi) for instrumentals.

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. Used to form agentive nouns.
  2. Used to form nouns of place (locative nouns).
  3. Used to form instrumental nouns.

Usage notes

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Each prefix forms a different template to which the noun must conform:

  • Agentive nouns end in in the masculine singular, -ìyā in the feminine singular, and in the plural, and the root has low tone in the masculine and plural, but high tone in the feminine.
  • Locative nouns end in and are feminine, or uncommonly in and are masculine, with all high tone in either case. There is rarely a plural form.
  • Instrumental nouns end in and are masculine, with plurals in -ai. The tones of the singular form are all high, and in the plural the tones are all low except for the plural morpheme.

Derived terms

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Japanese

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Romanization

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ma-

  1. Rōmaji transcription of

Kambera

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Pronoun

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ma-

  1. first person plural exclusive nominative proclitic

See also

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Kongo

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. class 6 prefix

Maori

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. Adjective prefix

Northern Sotho

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Old Javanese

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Etymology

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

Prefix

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ma-

  1. active verb

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Pitjantjatjara

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. away (prefixed to verbs)

Usage notes

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  • The hyphen is normally kept, for example, ma-pitjanyi.
  • Although ma- is spelt with a short a, the vowel is actually long (maa-). The misleading spelling exists for historical reasons.

Shona

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Sotho

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Swahili

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Alternative forms

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  • me- (before i and e)

Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Prefix

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ma-

  1. ma class(VI) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting mass nouns and plurals of a variety of classes
    maji machafudirty water
    1. forms plurals of ji class(V) nouns
      jicho (eye) → ‎macho (eyes)
      jambo (thing) → ‎mambo (things)
      chungwa (orange) → ‎machungwa (oranges)
      jitu (giant) → ‎majitu (giants)
    2. forms plurals of some u class(XI) nouns
      ugomvi (quarrel) → ‎magomvi (quarrels)
    3. forms collectives of n class(IX) nouns
      ma- + ‎rafiki (friend) → ‎marafiki (group of friends)

See also

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Tagalog

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-, from Proto-Austronesian *ma- (stative prefix). Compare may (existential marker).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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ma- (Baybayin spelling )

  1. used to form adjectives indicating a quality
    ma- + ‎linis (cleanliness) → ‎malinis (clean)
  2. actor III trigger infinitive verb prefix
    ma- + ‎ligo (bath) → ‎maligo (to take a bath; to bathe)
  3. object IV trigger infinitive verb prefix
    ma- + ‎basa (wet) → ‎mabasa (to become wet)
  4. object trigger to have done something; to be able to do something
    ma- + ‎tapos (finish) → ‎matapos (to be able to finish something)
    Natapos kong basahin ang libro kagabi.I was able to finish reading the book last night.
  5. object trigger to perform the action of the verb unintentionally
    ma- + ‎basag (break, crack) → ‎mabasag (to break something unintentionally)
    Nabasag ko ang salamin.I unintentionally broke the mirror. Compare it when used with the suffix -in:
    basag (break, crack) + -inbasagin (to break something on purpose)
    Binasag ko ang salamin.I broke the mirror on purpose.
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Proto-Austronesian *ma- (future prefix).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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má- (Baybayin spelling ) (dialectal)

  1. used to form contemplative aspects of verbs prefixed with um- or infixed with -um-
See also
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Further reading

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  • Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ma-”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Anagrams

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Tausug

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Pronunciation

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  • (Sinūgan Parianun) IPA(key): /ma/ [ma]
  • Syllabification: ma-

Prefix

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ma- (Sulat Sūg spelling مَ)

  1. Used to form adjectives and adverbs; characterized by; abundant in

Derived terms

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Ternate

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Etymology 1

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Pronoun

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ma- (Jawi م-)

  1. (non-human) third-person singular and plural possessive prefix, its, their
  2. indicates definiteness
    haka ngori maobogive me the bone (literally, “give me its bone”)
    mangofa hotuthe child sleeps (literally, “its child sleeps”)

See also

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Etymology 2

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Prefix

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ma- (Jawi م-)

  1. marks certain verbal aspects
    1. indicates prolonged duration
    2. indicates repeated action
      ma- + ‎kokehe (to cough) → ‎makokehe (to cough repeatedly)
    3. indicates habitual action
    4. indicates an action undertaken by multiple subjects

Etymology 3

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Prefix

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ma- (Jawi م-)

  1. reflexive
    ma- + ‎doto (to teach) → ‎madoto (to learn)
    ma- + ‎hodo (to pour) → ‎mahodo (to bathe)
    ma- + ‎ngadi (to clothe (another)) → ‎mangadi (to put on clothes, to don)

References

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  • Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
  • Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tsonga

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Tswana

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Venda

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Etymology

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 noun prefix.

West Makian

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Etymology 1

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Pronunciation

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. a prefix of unclear meaning
    ma- + ‎gei (to be dead) → ‎magei (to die)
    ma- + ‎dadi (to become) → ‎madadi (to be, exist)
Usage notes
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The prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

Alternative forms
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Etymology 2

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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ma-

  1. first-person plural inclusive clitic, we
    mocowe see
Usage notes
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The prefix ma- follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

Alternative forms
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Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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ma-

  1. (animate) third-person singular clitic for stative verbs, it
    madadi sangajihe became a chief
    di oma ma makaku itheir child is still small
Usage notes
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This clitic is only for stative verbs and does not undergo vowel harmony.

Etymology 4

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Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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ma-

  1. (animate) third-person singular possessive prefix, his, hers, that person's, that being's
Usage notes
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The possessive prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

Alternative forms
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See also

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Etymology 5

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Pronunciation

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Prefix

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ma-

  1. forms adverbial numerals
    ma- + ‎minye (one) → ‎maminye (once)
    ma- + ‎unge (three) → ‎maunge (thrice)

References

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  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours[1], Pacific linguistics

Xhosa

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Etymology

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From a clipping of makhe (hortative marker).

Prefix

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ma-

  1. let, may; gives a verb a hortative force.
    Masihambe!
    Let's go!

Usage notes

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The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.

Zulu

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

Prefix

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ma-

  1. Class 6 simple noun prefix.

Etymology 2

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From a clipping of make (hortative marker).

Prefix

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ma-

  1. let, may; gives a verb a hortative force.
    Masihambe!
    Let's go!
Usage notes
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The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.

Alternative forms
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References

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