[go: up one dir, main page]
Wiktionary

ah

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ah"
Languages (33)
English
Afar • Albanian • Aragonese • Catalan • Chickasaw • Danish • Esperanto • Finnish • French • Galician • German • Hokkien • Hungarian • Indonesian • Ingrian • Italian • Juǀ'hoan • Latin • Mokilese • Old English • Palikur • Pohnpeian • Portuguese • Romanian • Scots • Somali • Spanish • Sumerian • Swedish • Tulu-Bohuai • Vilamovian • Zou
Page categories

English

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology 1

edit

From Middle English ah, aa, a (“ah”), of imitative origin, or from Old English ēa, *eah (“oh, alas”), from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah (“ah”). Earliest recorded use is circa 1175 in the Ormulum: A, Maȝȝstre! icc wat tatt tu full wiss Arrt Godess Sune ("Ah, Master! I know for sure that thou art God's Son"). Some propose that the Middle English is borrowed from Old French a (“ah!, oh!, hey!”) (represented by modern French ah).[1][2]

Compare also West Frisian a, ah (“ah”), Dutch a, ah (“ah”), Middle Low German a (“ah”), Old High German a, aa, ah (“ah, oh”) (whence modern German ah), Faroese áh (“oh, ah, alas”), Icelandic æ, ai (“ah, oh”), Latin ah (“ah”).

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. 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.
  2. 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
edit
Translations
edit

Noun

edit

ah (plural ahs)

  1. 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)

  1. 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)

  1. 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
  • (Singapore, Malaysia)
    • IPA(key): (Senses 2‒5) /ɑː˨˦/, [äː˨˦ ~ ʌ̈ː˨˦], (Sense 2, non-interrogative) /ɑː/
    • IPA(key): (Sense 1) [ä˨]

Particle

edit

ah (Manglish, Singlish)

  1. Marks a tag question prompting the listener to clarify something.
    Synonyms: (Singapore) is it, izzit
    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?
  2. 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?
  3. Emphasizes the need for absolute confirmation or acknowledgment.
    Don't drink and drive ah...
  4. A filler word separating the topic of a sentence and its comment.
    The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.
  5. A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.

See also

edit

Etymology 3

edit

Imitative of a person gagging.

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. Yuck.

References

edit
  1. ^ “ah”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ah”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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

  1. this, these (masculine)

Declension

edit
Declension of áh
absolutive áh
predicative áha
subjective áh
genitive ahtí
Postpositioned forms
l-case áhal
k-case áhak
t-case áhat
h-case áhah

See also

edit
Afar demonstrative pronouns
masculine feminine
proximal to the speaker(s) áh táh
proximal to the spoken to amáh tamáh
distal wóh tóh
very distal wóttih

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)

  1. beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Hyponyms

edit

Further reading

edit
  • “ah”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎[4] (in Albanian), 1980
  • “ah”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006

Aragonese

edit

Etymology

edit

Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Syllabification: ah

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)

Catalan

edit

Etymology

edit

Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

edit

IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈa]

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)

Chickasaw

edit

Etymology

edit

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

Adverb

edit

ah

  1. yes
    Synonym: hohmi

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

  1. 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
    1. used to express pleasant surprise
      "ah, velkommen Albert," sagde Sickert til prinsen
      "ah, welcome Albert," said Sickert to the prince
      Synonym: minsandten
  2. 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

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

  1. ah, oh

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

  1. oh, ah

Further reading

edit

Anagrams

edit

French

edit

Etymology

edit

Inherited from Old French a! (“oh! ah! woe!”), of expressive origin.

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. ah

Derived terms

edit

References

edit

Further reading

edit

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

  1. ah (expression of understanding, etc.)

References

edit

German

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle High German ā, from Old High German a, ah, from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah. Cognate with Middle Low German a, Middle English a, aa, ah (whence English ah).

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. expressing understanding
  2. expressing contentment

Further reading

edit
  • “ah” in Duden online
  • “ah” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

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

  1. ah

References

edit
  1. ^ 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 Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Indonesian

edit

Etymology

edit

Unknown

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. oh, expresses compassion, surprise and dismay

Further reading

edit

Ingrian

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

Ultimately a natural sound. Compare Finnish ah and Estonian ah.

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. Exclamation of wonder: oh!
    Ah kui siä oot käppiä! ― Oh how beautiful you are!

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

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. (sarcastic) ah! (usually ironic or sarcastic)
    Synonym: ha

References

edit
  1. ^ ah in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Anagrams

edit

Juǀ'hoan

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Letter

edit

ah (upper case Ah)

  1. 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

  1. ah

References

edit
  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011) Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd edition, revised and corrected by Michiel de Vaan, 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

  1. (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
Possessive forms of ah (loose inalienable possession, -ah stem)
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

Etymology 1

edit

Conjunction

edit

ah

  1. (Anglian) Alternative form of ac (“but”)

Etymology 2

edit

Verb

edit

āh

  1. first/third-person singular present indicative of āgan

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

  1. (neuter) wood
  2. (feminine) tree

References

edit
  • Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN

Pohnpeian

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Etymology 1

edit

Noun

edit

ah

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.

Etymology 2

edit

Noun

edit

ah

  1. shark mullet (Rhinomugil nasutus), at a growth stage of approximately twelve inches

Etymology 3

edit

Conjunction

edit

ah

  1. 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.

Etymology 4

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Determiner

edit

ah

  1. his, her, hers, its, third person singular possessive pronoun
    Liho iang ah pwoud.
    The woman joined her husband.

Etymology 5

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. Oh!; commonly used as an expression of approval.
    Ah, ke inenen mai.
    Oh, you are really good.

Portuguese

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah!

  1. ah! (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah! (expression of woe, grief)

Quotations

edit

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ah.

Romanian

edit

Etymology

edit

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. ah

Scots

edit

Alternative forms

edit

Pronoun

edit

ah

  1. (Cromarty) who

References

edit
  • Am Baile (2009) The Cromarty Fisherfolk Dialect‎[7], Highland Council, page 8

Somali

edit

Etymology

edit

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

Verb

edit

ah

  1. (intransitive) To be
    Bariis oo macaan ah. ― Rice that is sweet.

Spanish

edit

Etymology

edit

Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

edit

Interjection

edit

ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)
edit

Further reading

edit

Anagrams

edit

Sumerian

edit

Romanization

edit

ah

  1. 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

  1. ah (expression of understanding, relaxation, contentment, etc.)
    Ah, jag förstår
    Ah, I understand
    Ah, det är skönt att få glida ner i jacuzzin och knäcka en kall öl efter ett hårt arbetspass i skogen
    Ah, it's nice [feels good] to slip ["get to slip" – redundant, but sounds natural] into the jacuzzi and crack open a cold beer after a session of hard work in the forest
    Greven såg ut över sina ägor och tänkte "Ah, underbart!"
    The count looked out over his lands ["ownings"] and thought, "Ah, wonderful!"

References

edit

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

  1. coral lime (for chewing/eating with betelnut)

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

  1. oh: expressing of surprise
  2. oh: expressing wonder, amazement, or awe
  3. oh: expressing understanding, recognition, or realization
  4. oh: preceding an offhand or annoyed remark
  5. oh: an invocation or address

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

  1. fowl
  2. (specifically) chicken (Gallus gallus)

Derived terms

edit

References

edit
  • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 49
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=ah&oldid=82516639"