mwa

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mwa"

Translingual

Symbol

mwa

(international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Mwatebu.

English

Interjection

mwa

Alternative spelling of mwah.

Noun

mwa (uncountable)

Alternative spelling of mwah.

Anagrams

WMA, awm, MAW, maw, WAM, Maw

Anguthimri

Noun

mwa

(Mpakwithi) fire

References

Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French mois.

Noun

mwa

month

Bangi

Adjective

mwa

little
small

Chichewa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-mʊ́a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mʷa/

Verb

-mwa (infinitive kumwá)

drink
Synonyms: -nyota, -kakachiza
(of medicine or pills) swallow, consume

Derived terms

Verbal derivations:
- Applicative: -mwera
- Causative: -mwetsa
- Passive: -mwedwa
- Reduplicative: -mwamwa
- Repetitive: -mwanso
- Stative: -mweka

Dumbea

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /moa/

Noun

mwa

house

References

Leenhardt, M. (1946), Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "ⁿDuᵐbea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
Shintani, T.L.A. & Païta, Y. (1990), Dictionnaire de la langue de Païta, Nouméa: Sociéte d'etudes historiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Cited in: "Drubea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Dutch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [mwɑ]

Interjection

mwa

(informal) An expression of indifference: meh
Meestal heb ik zoiets van “mwa, niet zo belangrijk”.
Usually I am like, “meh, not that important.”

Adjective

mwa (not comparable)

(informal, predicative) mediocre
De kipfilet was goed maar de saus was vies en de frietjes waren mwa.
The chicken filet was good but the sauce tasted bad and the french fries were mediocre.

Usage notes

Occurs mainly as the complement of a copular verb such as zijn (“to be”) or vinden (“to find”).

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French mois (“month”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mwa/
Audio: (file)

Noun

mwa

month

References

Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎^[1], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 133

Lingala

Etymology

Borrowed from Bangi mwa.

Adverb

mwa

a little, not much

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French moi (“me”).

Pronoun

mwa (nominative mo)

me (first-person singular objective personal pronoun)

Shona

Verb

-mwá (infinitive kumwá)

Karanga and Manyika form of -nwa

Swahili

Particle

mwa

mu class_(XVIII) inflected form of -a

Tumbuka

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-mʊ́a.

Verb

-mwa (infinitive kumwa)

to drink

Derived terms

-mweska (“to cause to drink”)
-mweka (“to be drinkable, to be drunk”)

References

Wm. Y. Turner, Tumbuka/Tonga-English and English-Tumbuka/Tonga Dictionary, 1996

Yao (Africa)

Alternative forms

-ng'wa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *-mʊ́a.

Verb

-mwa (infinitive kumwa, perfect -mwele)

to drink

Usage notes

Sanderson notes that this verb is the "modern Yao for -ng'wa" in 1922. Considering that -ng'wa does not appear in the Dikishonale ya Ŵakulijiganya, it is possible that the original variant has died out. Perhaps the Yao adopted this variant (-mwa) when they migrated from Mozambique to Malawi, and this has entirely replaced the old variant.

Derived terms

-mwesya (“to cause to drink”)

References

Ciyawo - English Dictionary: Dikishonale ja Ŵakulijiganya
Rev. Alexander Hetherwick, M.A., F.R.G.S. (1902), A Handbook of the Yao Language‎^[2], Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, page 245
Meredith Sanderson, M.R.C.S., F.R.G.S., F.R.A.I. (1922), A Yao Grammar‎^[3], Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, page 178

	singular	plural
1st person	mo mwa (objective)	nou
2nd person	to (informal), ou (formal) twa (objective)	zot
3rd person	li	zot, bann-la