besa

See also: besá, besà, Besa, bešā, and běsa

English

Noun

besa (uncountable)

1. The Albanian cultural precept of keeping one's word of honor.

Albanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbesa/
• Rhymes: -esa

Etymology 1

From besë (“faith”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Interjection

besa

1. (colloquial) really, to tell the truth

References

• “bésa”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1], 1980, page 126a

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

besa

1. definite nominative singular of besë

Asturian

Verb

besa

1. third-person singular present indicative of besar
2. second-person singular imperative of besar

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (traditional) IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈbe.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈbe.za]
• (frequently) IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbɛ.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈbə.zə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈbe.za]
• Rhymes: -ɛza

Verb

besa

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

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish besar (“to kiss”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beˈsa/, [beˈsa]
• Hyphenation: be‧sa

Verb

besá

1. to kiss

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Albanian besë.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /běːsa/
• Hyphenation: be‧sa

Noun

bésa f (Cyrillic spelling бе́са)

1. oath, pledge, word of honour among Albanians

   Synonym: závet

2. truce, peace treaty between two clans in a blood feud

Declension

Declension of besa

	singular	plural
nominative	besa	bese
genitive	bese	besa
dative	besi	besama
accusative	besu	bese
vocative	beso	bese
locative	besi	besama
instrumental	besom	besama

References

• “besa”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2026
• “besa”, in Rečnik – Fjalor, 2019

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

besa (Cyrillic spelling беса)

1. genitive singular of bes

Sotho

Verb

besa

1. to roast

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbesa/ [ˈbe.sa]
• Rhymes: -esa
• Syllabification: be‧sa

Verb

besa

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

Ternate

Etymology

Cognate with Sahu besa'a. Equivalent to N- (nominalizer) +‎ fesa (“wet”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbe.sa/

Noun

besa (Jawi بيس)

1. rain

   بيس فوفراي ― besa fofurai ― a drizzle, a drizzling rain

Verb

besa (Jawi بيس)

1. (impersonal) to rain

   besa ua ― it's not raining

Conjugation

Conjugation of besa

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tobesa	fobesa	mibesa
2nd person		nobesa	nibesa
3rd person	masculine	obesa	ibesa yobesa (archaic)
	feminine	mobesa
	neuter	ibesa

References

• 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