Was Definition
was
See also wąs
Contents |
English
Wikipedia has an article on: Was (disambiguation)Etymology
From Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic *was, (identical to Low German was, cognate with German war), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”). The paradigm of "to be" has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to become”). The words is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”).
Pronunciation
stressed
-
Audio (US) (file) - (UK) enPR: wŏz, IPA: /wɒz/, X-SAMPA: /wQz/
- (US) enPR: wŭz, IPA: /wʌz/, X-SAMPA: /wVz/, IPA: /wɑz/
- Rhymes: -ɒz
unstressed
Verb
was
- First-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
- Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
Derived terms
See also
Statistics
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Noun
was (uncountable)
Verb
was
- Past tense of wees.
was (past participle gewas)
- to wash
Dutch
Dutch Wikipedia has an article on: WasWikipedia nl
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɑs
- IPA: /ʋɑs/
Etymology 1
Cognate with English wash.
Noun
was m. (plural wassen, diminutive wasje)
- laundry, clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed.
Verb
was
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch *was, from Proto-Germanic *wahsan. Cognate with English wax.
Noun
was m. and n. (plural wassen)
Verb
was
Derived terms
- bijenwas
- gewas n.
- uitwas
- uit de kluiten gewassen
Etymology 3
Cognate with English was.
Verb
was
- singular past indicative of zijn.
- singular past indicative of wezen.
Anagrams
German
Etymology
From Old High German (h)waz, originally *(h)wat, compare Dutch wat.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
was
Derived terms
Gothic
Romanization
was
- Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐍃
Low German
Verb
was
- was; first-person singular simple past tense indicative of węsen (to be).
- was; Third-person singular simple past tense indicative of węsen (to be).
- wash; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen; mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialekts' wasche/waske
- wax; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen
- grow; apocoped form of wasse, singular imperative of wassen
Usage notes
Notes on the verb węsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the old Conjunctive wer is used in place of was by many speakers. This might be the old Conjunctive which is now used as a preterite or a reduction of weren, which is the Preterite Plural Indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognate war. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower-Saxony that use wer for was, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way"-nature of the situation no form can be named 'standard' for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.
Mayangna
Noun
was
Polish
Pronoun
was
- Genitive, accusative and locative of wy (you, plural).
Scots
Noun
was
- Plural form of wa.
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The Was ("power, dominion") sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art and hieroglyphics associated with the Ancient Egyptian religion. They appear as long, straight staffs, with a stylized animal head on top and a forked end.