la

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"

Translingual

Symbol

la

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Latin.

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /lɑː/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɑː

Etymology 1

From Latin labii, from the first word of the sixth line of Ut queant laxis, the medieval hymn on which solfège was based because its lines started on each note of the scale successively.

Alternative forms

Noun

la (plural las)

  1. (music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A Millar, , →OCLC:
      And now Mrs Waters (for we must confess she was in the same bed), being, I suppose, awakened from her sleep, and seeing two men fighting in her bedchamber, began to scream in the most violent manner, crying out murder! robbery! and more frequently rape! which last, some, perhaps, may wonder she should mention, who do not consider that these words of exclamation are used by ladies in a fright, as fa, la, la, ra, da, &c., are in music, only as the vehicles of sound, and without any fixed ideas.
Coordinate terms
Translations
See la/translations § noun.

Etymology 2

Sound used to form meaningless song refrains. Of imitative origin. Compare Old English lā (a common exclamation), Ancient Greek λαλαγε (lalage, “babble”), German lallen (“to babble”).

Interjection

la

  1. Represents the sound of music or singing.
    "La la la la, I can't hear you!" Jimmy said, sticking his fingers in his ears.
    • 2019, Keira Brown, Between the Lines: Never in Plain Sight:
      The only part Lucy had to sing was the interlude, which was a bunch of la la la's, and the last verse of the song, which was only four lines, and the chorus, which was just as short.

Etymology 3

From Middle English la, from Old English lā. More at lo.

Alternative forms

Interjection

la

  1. (obsolete) Used to introduce a statement with emphatic or intensive effect.
  2. (archaic) Expressing surprise, anger. etc.

Etymology 4

From French la, Italian la.

Adjective

la (not comparable)

  1. Prefixed to the name of a woman, with ironic effect (as though an opera prima donna).
    • 2007 November 22, Kate Carter, The Guardian:
      Following lukewarm on the heels of an article a few weeks ago, where (I paraphrase due to having filed the relevant copy in the recycling bin) Victoria Beckham made a "well-meaning" remark that the other Spice Girls might want to lose a few pounds, we now have a new incidence of La Beckham's scintillating and entirely well-meaning humour.
    • 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic, published 2011, page 232:
      By judicious leaking, he also managed to make la Kirkpatrick and her associates look rather unsavory.

Etymology 5

Possibly a shortened form of lad.

Noun

la (plural las)

  1. (Liverpool) lad, kid
Related terms

Etymology 6

From Cantonese 啦 (laa1). Doublet of lah.

Pronunciation

Particle

la (Hong Kong, colloquial)

  1. Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.
    Sleep la! ― go to bed.
    Eat shit la you! ― You're going to hell! (calque of 食屎啦你！)
  2. Used to tone down comments.
    ok la ― not bad; good enough
See also

Etymology 7

Particle

la

  1. (Singlish, Manglish) Alternative form of lah

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Noun

la (plural )

  1. (music) la (solfège)

References

Ama

Pronunciation

Noun

la

  1. fish

Anguthimri

Noun

la

  1. (Mpakwithi) black snake

References

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 186

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin illa (“that one”).

Pronoun

la

  1. her (direct object)

Aromanian

Etymology

From Latin illac. Compare Romanian la.

Preposition

la

  1. at
  2. by

Asturian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f sg (masculine el, neuter lo, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

  1. (definite) the

Usage notes

  • The article la contracts to l' before a word beginning with a or ha: l'asturiana (the Asturian), l'habitación (the habitation), because it ends with an A already

Pronoun

la

  1. her (third-person singular feminine direct pronoun)

Bambara

Alternative forms

Postposition

la

  1. postposition marking location

Catalan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Catalan la, from Latin illa (demonstrative) via apheresis.

Pronunciation

Article

la f (masculine el, masculine plural els, feminine plural les)

  1. the; feminine singular definite article
Usage notes
  • The article la is contracted to l' before a vowel or h, except before a following unstressed I or U sounds, as in la universitat, la idea, and la oliva. Note: Unstressed O sounds like a U.

Pronoun

la (enclitic and proclitic, contracted proclitic l')

  1. her (direct object)
Usage notes
  • -la is the full (plena) form of the pronoun. It is normally used after verbs.
    Mira-la. ― Look at her.
Declension
Catalan personal pronouns and clitics
strong/subject weak (direct object) weak (indirect object) possessive
singular proclitic enclitic proclitic enclitic
1st person jo, mi3 em, m’ -me, ’m em, m’ -me, ’m meu
1st person majestic1 nós ens -nos, ’ns ens -nos, ’ns nostre
2nd person tu et, t’ -te, ’t et, t’ -te, ’t teu
2nd person formal1 vós us -vos, -us us -vos, -us vostre
2nd person very formal2 vostè el, l’ -lo, ’l li -li seu
3rd person masculine ell el, l’ -lo, ’l li -li seu
3rd person feminine ella la, l’4 -la li -li seu
3rd person neuter ho -ho li -li seu
3rd person reflexive si es, s’ -se, ’s es, s’ -se, ’s seu
plural
1st person nosaltres ens -nos, ’ns ens -nos, ’ns nostre
2nd person vosaltres us -vos, -us us -vos, -us vostre
2nd person formal2 vostès els -los, ’ls els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person masculine ells els -los, ’ls els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person feminine elles les -les els -los, ’ls seu
3rd person reflexive si es, s’ -se, ’s es, s’ -se, ’s seu
adverbial
ablative/genitive en, n’ -ne, ’n
locative hi -hi
1) Behaves grammatically as plural.
2) Behaves grammatically as third person. 		3) Only as object of a preposition.
4) Not before unstressed (h)i-, (h)u-.

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

la m (plural las)

  1. (music) la (sixth note of a diatonic scale)

Further reading

Chickasaw

Pronoun

la

  1. I (first-person singular pronoun)

Corsican

Etymology

From Latin illa, feminine form of ille (“that”), from Old Latin olle. Cognates include Italian la and French la.

Pronunciation

Article

la

  1. Archaic form of a.

Pronoun

la

  1. Archaic form of a.

References

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la

  1. the; feminine singular definite article

Related terms

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From earlier lade through regular syncope of intervocalic -d- (compare weer, blij, broer), from Middle Dutch lāde, from Old Dutch *latha, from Proto-Germanic *hlaþō.

Noun

la f (plural laden or la's, diminutive laatje n)

  1. drawer
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Afrikaans: laai
  • → Caribbean Hindustani: láh
  • → Caribbean Javanese: latye (from the diminutive form)
  • → Papiamentu: lachi, laadsje (from lade)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

la f (plural la's, diminutive laatje n)

  1. la (music)

Anagrams

Emilian

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /la/
  • Hyphenation: la
Mirandolese Emilian definite articles
singular plural
masculine al
'l 		i
gl'
feminine la
l' 		li
gl'

Article

la f sg (plural al or el or li)

  1. the

Pronoun

la (personal)

  1. (nominative case) she
  2. (accusative case) her

Alternative forms

  • Becomes l’ before a vowel.
  • Becomes -la when acting as an enclitic.

Related terms

Emilian personal pronouns (strong forms)
Number Person Gender Disjunctive
(tonic) 		Nominative
(subject) 		Accusative
(direct complement) 		Dative
(indirect complement) 		Reflexive
(-self) 		Comitative
(with)
Singular First — mè a me mêg
Second — tè et te têg
Third Masculine ló al ge se sêg
Feminine lê la
Plural First Masculine nuēter a se nōsk
Feminine nuētri
Second Masculine vuēter a ve vōsk
Feminine vuētri
Third Masculine lôr i ge se sêg
Feminine el li

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from French la, Italian la, Spanish la, all ultimately from Medieval Latin ille.

Pronunciation

Article

la

  1. the
    la libro — the book
    la libroj — the books
    la angla lingvo — the English language
    la angla — (the) English (language) (clipped form)

Alternative forms

  • l' (poetic)

Finnish

Etymology

From lauantai.

Noun

la

  1. Abbreviation of lauantai (“Saturday”).

French

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle French la, from Old French la, from Latin illam, which is the accusative singular feminine of ille.

Article

la f sg

  1. the (definite article)
Usage notes
  • la becomes l’ before a vowel or an unaspirated h.
    l’amitié ― the friendship
    l’île ― the island
    l’oasis ― the oasis
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: la

Pronoun

la f sg

  1. her, it (direct object)
    Où est Judith ? Je ne la vois pas.
    Where is Judith? I don't see her.
    Prends cette boîte et mets-la dans le coin.
    Take that box and put it in the corner.
Related terms
French personal pronouns
Number Person Gender Nominative
(subject) 		Accusative
(direct complement) 		Dative
(indirect complement) 		Disjunctive
(tonic)
Singular First — je, j’ me, m’ moi
Second — tu te, t’ toi
Third Masculine il le, l’ lui lui
Feminine elle la, l’ elle
Gender neutral5 iel lea ellui
Indeterminate on1 — — —
Reflexive — se, s’4 soi4
Plural First — nous nous nous
Second — vous2 vous2,3 vous2
Third Masculine ils3 les leur eux
Feminine elles elles
Gender neutral5 iels elleux
1 Also used as the first person plural.
2 Also used as the polite singular form.
3 Also used when a group has both men and women.
4 Also used as third person plural reflexive.
5 Colloquial, and not in popular use.

Etymology 2

Noun

la m (plural la)

  1. (music) la, the note 'A'
Derived terms

See also

References

  1. ^ Dauzat, Albert with Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand (1964) “le, la, les”, in Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique (in French), Paris: Librairie Larousse

Further reading

Friulian

Friulian Definite Articles
singular plural
masculine il
l' 		i
feminine  la
l' 		lis

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f sg (plural lis)

  1. the

See also

Galician

Etymology 1

Pronoun

la f (accusative)

  1. Alternative form of a (“her”)
Usage notes

The l- forms of accusative third-person pronouns are used when the preceding word ends in -r or -s, and is suffixed to the preceding word

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

la m (plural las)

  1. (music) la (sixth note of the scale)
  2. (music) A (the musical note or key)
See also

Etymology 3

From Old Galician-Portuguese lãa, from Latin lāna.

Alternative forms

Noun

la f (uncountable)

  1. wool

Guinea-Bissau Creole

Etymology

From Portuguese lá. Cognate with Kabuverdianu la.

Adverb

la

  1. there

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From French l'art.

Noun

la

  1. art

Etymology 2

Article

la

  1. the (definite article)
Usage notes

This article is used only after a word that ends with an oral (non-nasal) vowel and an oral consonant, in that order, and when it modifies a singular noun.

See also

Etymology 3

From French là (“there”).

Adverb

la

  1. there

Hungarian

Pronunciation

Interjection

la

  1. (archaic) used in dialects at the end of an exclamatory sentence as an emphasis
    ott van la! ― there it is!
  2. a syllable used when singing a tune without lyrics

Further reading

  • (for emphasis): la 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
  • (syllable used when singing): la 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
  • (alternative form of lá, used in solfège): la 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
  • (used in à la, cf. à): la 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

Ido

Alternative forms

  • (apocopic form) l'

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Esperanto la, from French la, Italian la, Spanish la.

Article

la (plural le)

  1. the
Derived terms
Prep. + article Combined form
ad + la al
de + la del
di + la dil
da + la dal

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English la, French la, Italian la, Spanish la, Portuguese lá, German A, Russian ля (lja).

Noun

la (plural le la or lai)

  1. (music) la

Interlingua

Pronoun

la

  1. (accusative) her
  2. (dative) to her

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine of ille.

Article

la f sg (masculine el)

  1. feminine singular definite article the
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:
      Ti son la manduleîna inzucherada.
      You are the sugared almond.

Italian

Etymology 1

From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /la/
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Hyphenation: la

Article

Italian Definite Articles
singular plural
masculine il
lo/l' 		i
gli
feminine  la/l' le

la f sg (plural le)

  1. the
Usage notes
  • The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.

Pronoun

la f sg (plural le, masculine lo)

  1. (accusative) her, it
    La vedo. ― I see her.
    • a. 1975, Pier Paolo Pasolini:
      […] una improvvisa timidezza però la immobilizza […]
      a sudden timidity immobilized her though
  2. (accusative, formal) you (term of respect)
    La vedo. ― I see you.
    Scusi se la disturbo. ― Sorry to bother you.
Alternative forms
See also
Italian personal pronouns
Number Person Gender Nominative Reflexive Accusative Dative Conjunctive Disjunctive Locative Partitive
Singular first — io mi, m', -mi me me —
second — tu ti, t', -ti te te
third m lui si2, s', -si lo, l', -lo gli, -gli glie, se2 lui, sé ci, c',
vi, v' (formal) 		ne, n'
f lei, Lei1 la, La1, l', L'1, -la, -La1 le3, Le1, -le3, -Le1 lei, Lei1, sé
Plural first — noi ci, c', -ci ce noi —
second — voi, Voi4 vi, Vi4, v', V'4, -vi, -Vi4 ve voi, Voi4
third m loro, Loro1 si, s', -si li, Li1, -li, -Li1 gli, -gli, loro (formal),
Loro1 		glie, se loro, Loro1, sé ci, c',
vi, v' (formal) 		ne, n'
f le, Le1, -le, -Le1
1 Third person pronominal forms used as formal terms of address to refer to second person subjects (with the first letter frequently capitalised as a sign of respect, and to distinguish them from third person subjects). Unlike the singular forms, the plural forms are mostly antiquated terms of formal address in the modern language, and second person plural pronouns are almost always used instead.
2 Also used as indefinite pronoun meaning “one”, and to form the passive.
3 Often replaced by gli, -gli in informal language.
4 Formal (capitalisation optional); in many regions, can refer to just one person (compare with French vous).

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈla/°, /ˈla/*
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Hyphenation: là

Noun

la m (invariable)

  2. (music) la (musical note)
  3. (music) A (musical note and scale)
Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Patota, Giuseppe (2002) Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, →ISBN, page 127

Further reading

Anagrams

Japanese

Romanization

la

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ら゚
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ラ゚

Jingpho

Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese လ (la.).

Noun

la

  1. month

References

  • Kurabe, Keita (2016 December 31) “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎, volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

Kabuverdianu

Etymology

From Portuguese lá.

Adverb

la

  1. there

Kambera

Preposition

la

  1. in
    Ni-nja la wawa-mu.
    They are below you.
    (literally, “They are in below you”)

References

  • Marian Klamer (1998) A Grammar of Kambera, Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 127

Kilivila

Verb

-la-

  1. to leave, to go
    kula - thou goest
    kulosi - ye go
    bala - I will go

Idioms

See also

References

  1. ^ Gunter Senft (1986), Kilivila: the Language of the Trobriand Islanders. Berlin • New York • Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 303. →ISBN

Ladin

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f (singular)

  1. the

Usage notes

  • The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.

See also

Ladino

Article

la (Hebrew spelling לה, plural las, masculine el)

  1. the (feminine singular)

Leonese

Etymology

From Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille.

Article

la f sg (masculine el, neuter lu, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)

  1. the (definite article)

Usage notes

  • The prepositions cun, en and pur contract with la, unless la is part of a proper noun.
    ‎cun + ‎la → ‎cula
    ‎en + ‎la → ‎na
    ‎pur + ‎la → ‎pula
  • The article la becomes l' before a word beginning with a a or ha:
    l'aviespa ― the wasp

Malay

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Pronunciation spelling of lah.

Particle

la

  1. (nonstandard) Alternative form of lah.

Etymology 2

Clipping of la ni, itself a clipping of kala ini, making la a clipping of kala.

Adverb

la (Jawi spelling لا)

  1. (dialectal, Kedah, Kelantan-Pattani, Terengganu) At the present time or moment; now.
    Synonyms: sekarang, la ni, ini

Further reading

Maltese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /laː/
  • Usually unstressed and then automatically shortened to /la/.

Etymology 1

From Arabic لَا (lā). Doublet of le (“no”).

Adverb

la

  1. Used—optionally—with a negated second-person imperfect verb to express the negated imperative.
    La tisraqx!
    Don't steal!.
  2. Used to express negative intention.

Conjunction

la

  1. neither, nor
    La jiekol u la jixrob. ― He doesn't eat nor drink.
  2. (obsolete) except
    Synonym: ħlief

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Probably from Arabic لَمَّا (lammā).

Conjunction

la

  1. when
  2. since
Derived terms

Mandarin

Pronunciation

Romanization

la (la5／la0, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄚ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啦
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 嚹
  3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 鞡
  4. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𤷟
  5. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𩋷

la

  1. Nonstandard spelling of lā.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of lá.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of lǎ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of là.

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Matal

Preposition

la

  1. in
    Kak la marabay, Səmon kona aŋa Yuhana, kà uwana dza asik à uwana apə̀hakala dziriga uwaga aw, ama Baba gulo uwana la zagəla la afik la uwana apə̀hakala uwaga.(Mata 16:17)
    Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 16:17)
  2. from
    Ama ləv aŋatà kà kərkər la gi (Mata 15:8)
    But their heart is far away from me. (Matthew 15:8)

References

  1. ^ http://listen.bible.is/MFHWYI/Matt/16#17
  2. ^ http://listen.bible.is/MFHWYI/Matt/15#8

Michif

Etymology

From French la.

Pronunciation

Article

la f (masculine li, masculine and feminine plural lii)

  1. the

Middle French

Etymology 1

From Old French la, from Latin illam.

Article

la f (masculine le, masculine and feminine plural les)

  1. the
Descendants
  • French: la
    • → Norwegian Bokmål: la

Etymology 2

From Old French la.

Alternative forms

  • là (circa 1550)

Adverb

la

  1. there
Descendants

Mirandese

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la f (plural las, masculine l, masculine plural ls)

  1. the
    la lhéngua mirandesa
    the Mirandese language

Mwan

Noun

la

  1. rain

Neapolitan

Pronoun

la

  1. Alternative form of 'a

Norman

Norman Definite Articles
singular plural
masculine le / l' les
feminine  la / l' les

Etymology

From Old French la, from Latin illa(m).

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Jersey)(file)

Article

la f (plural les)

  1. (Jersey) the (feminine singular definite article)
    la beque ― the spade
    la crôte ― the crust
    la léçon ― the lesson
    la tâsse ― the cup

Coordinate terms

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From the verb late.

Verb

la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past lot, past participle latt)

  1. to let
    La sovende hunder ligge. ― Let sleeping dogs lie.
  2. to leave (in a given state)
    la dem (være) i fred ― leave them alone

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlaða.

Verb

la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past ladde, past participle ladd)

  1. alternative form of lade

Etymology 3

Verb

la

  1. simple past of legge

Etymology 4

From French la (“the”), from Middle French la (“the”), from Old French la (“the”), from Latin illam (“that, those”), which is the accusative singular feminine of ille (“that, those”), from Old Latin olle (“he, that”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ol-no- or *h₂l̥-no-, from *h₂el- (“beyond, other”).

Pronunciation

Article

la

  1. (Used in certain expressions of French origin) the
    à la, à la carte, à la grecque, à la mode, à la maison, à la suite

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Old Norse láta, from Proto-Germanic *lētaną. Akin to English let.

Alternative forms

Verb

la (present tense lar or lèt, past tense lét, supine latt or late, past participle latt or laten, present participle latande, imperative la)

  1. let, allow
    La meg få gjera det.
    Let me do it.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hlaða, a strong verb from Proto-Germanic *hlaþaną.

Alternative forms

Verb

la (present tense lar, past tense ladde, supine ladd or ladt, past participle ladd, present participle ladande, imperative la)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to load, charge
    Synonym: laste
Derived terms
Related terms

Etymology 3

From Latin labii, from the first word of the sixth line of Ut queant laxis, the medieval hymn on which solfège was based because its lines started on each note of the scale successively. Through Italian.

Noun

la m (definite singular la-en, indefinite plural la-ar, definite plural la-ane)

  2. (music) la, a syllable used in solfège to represent the second note of a major scale.
Coordinate terms

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

la

  1. past of leggja and legga

References

Anagrams

Occitan

Etymology

From Old Occitan la, from Latin illa(m).

Pronunciation

Article

la (masculine lo, feminine plural las, masculine plural los)

  1. the; feminine singular definite article

Old English

Etymology

Unknown. Probably onomatopoeic. Compare Polish ła. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Interjection

lā

  1. lo!, oh!, ah!
    Lā! næddrena cyn.
    Oh! generation of vipers.
  2. Enclitic particle used to emphasise interrogation, exclamation, entreaty, affirmation, negation
    Ðā cwæþ ic hwæt is ðæt lā?
    then said I 'what then is that?'

Old French

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la

  1. the (feminine singular oblique definite article)
  2. the (feminine singular nominative definite article)

Inflection

Old French definite articles
Declension of the definite article le
singular plural
masculine feminine masculine feminine
nominative li la, le 1 li les
oblique le 1 la 1 les les
1 These singular forms elide to l' before a vowel or non-aspirate h.

Pronoun

la

  1. it (feminine singular object pronoun)

Descendants

  • Middle French: la
    • French: la
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: la

Old Irish

Alternative forms

Etymology

From a form of Proto-Celtic *letos (“side”), from which leth, which could be related to *ɸletos (“side”). However, compare Latin latus. The sense “in the language of” is a semantic loan from Latin apud and is perhaps encountered only in glosses of the Latin construction.

Pronunciation

Preposition

la (with the accusative)

  1. with
  2. belonging to
  3. among
  4. in the language of
  5. in the opinion of
  6. by (indicating the agent of a passive verb)

For quotations using this term, see Citations:la.

Inflection

Inflection of la
Person Normal Emphatic
1st person sing. lem(m), lim(m), leim, lium(m) lemsa, li(u)msa
2d person sing. lat(t) latso, latsu
3d sing. masc./neut., dative
3d sing. masc./neut., accusative leiss, les(s), lais(s), letha le(i)som, lessom, le(i)ssem, laisem
3d sing. fem., dative
3d sing. fem., accusative l(a)ee, lǽ lési
1st person pl. li(u)nn, le(i)nn linn(a)i
2d person pl. lib libsi
3d person pl., dative
3d person pl., accusative leu, léu, leo, lethu leusom, leosom

Derived terms

Combinations with a definite article:

Combinations with a possessive determiner:

  • lam (“with my”)
  • lat (“with your sg”)
  • lia (“with his/her/its/their”)
  • liar (“with our”)

Combinations with a relative pronoun:

Descendants

  • Irish: le
  • Manx: lesh
  • Scottish Gaelic: le

Further reading

Old Occitan

Etymology

From Latin illa(m).

Article

la (masculine lo)

  1. the; feminine singular definite article

Descendants

  • Occitan: la

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Pronoun

la

  2. Alternative form of a (third-person feminine singular objective pronoun) used as an enclitic and mesoclitic following a verb form ending in a consonant (-z, -r and -s, but not -m); the consonant is elided and the preceding vowel takes an accent if necessary

Romagnol

Article

la

  1. feminine of e’ (“the”)

Romanian

Alternative forms

  • ла (la) (Transnistria (Moldova))

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Latin illac.

Preposition

la (+accusative)

  1. at
    Suntem la Paris.
    We're at Paris.
  2. to, towards

Etymology 2

From Latin lavāre, present active infinitive of lavō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”).

Alternative forms

Verb

a la (third-person singular present lă, past participle lăut) 1st conj.

  1. (uncommon) to wash (especially the head)
    Synonyms: se spăla, scălda, îmbăia
Conjugation
    conjugation of la (first conjugation, no infix)
infinitive a la
gerund lând
past participle lăut
number singular plural
person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person 1st person 2nd person 3rd person
indicative eu tu el/ea noi voi ei/ele
present lau lai lă lăm lați lau
imperfect lam lai la lam lați lau
simple perfect lăui lăuși lău lăurăm lăurăți lăură
pluperfect lăusem lăuseși lăuse lăuserăm lăuserăți lăuseră
subjunctive eu tu el/ea noi voi ei/ele
present să lau să lai să lea
să laie
să leie 		să lăm să lați să lea
să laie
să leie
imperative — tu — — voi —
affirmative lă lați
negative nu la nu lați
Derived terms
Related terms

Samoan

Noun

la

  1. sun

Santa Catarina Albarradas Zapotec

Noun

la

  1. name

References

Sassarese

Alternative forms

  • -lla (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is stressed)
  • -ra (pronoun, enclitic, used when previous syllable is unstressed)

Etymology

From Latin illa, feminine of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /la/, (after a word ending in a vowel) /ra/

Article

la f sg (plural li, masculine lu)

Sassarese definite articles
singular plural
masculine lu/l' li/l'
feminine la/l'
  1. the (feminine singular)

Usage notes

  • Becomes l' before a vowel.

Pronoun

la f (plural li, masculine lu)

  1. (followed by chi) that
  2. her (accusative)
  3. it (accusative)

References

  • Rubattu, Antoninu (2006) Dizionario universale della lingua di Sardegna, 2nd edition, Sassari: Edes

Sicilian

Etymology 1

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Article

la f sg (m lu, plural li)

  1. (feminine singular definite article) the
    Synonym: a
Usage notes
  • This article is nowadays an obsolete variant, unlike its illiquid counterpart a. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
  • Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
  • Its use is however almost undisputed before nouns (or nominalized forms of other parts of speech, most often adjectives) that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'. Otherwise, illiquid definite articles are phonetically absorbed by the following noun. I.e: l'arancina (liquid) and ârancina (illiquid).
Inflection
Sicilian articles
Masculine singular definite article Feminine singular definite article Masculine and feminine plural definite article
Definite articles (liquid) lu la li
Definite articles (illiquid) u a i
Definite articles nu
(also: un,'n) 		na

Etymology 2

From the apheresis of Vulgar Latin *illa, from Latin illam, from illa.

Alternative forms

  • -la (enclitic)
  • a (illiquid form)

Pronunciation

Pronoun

la f sg (plural li, masculine lu)

  1. (accusative) her
    Synonym: a
    La canusci? ― Do you know her?
  2. (accusative) it, this or that thing
    Synonym: a
    Quannu ti la desi. ― When I gave it to you.
Usage notes
  • This pronoun is now an obsolete variant. It is currently used only in some restricted areas where it is still withheld in conversational communications.
  • Today it is mostly used in crystallized contexts, such as singing, poetry or sayings and proverbs. In all these cases this definite article is more euphonetic than the variants, now predominant, which have undergone the lenition of the initial liquid consonant.
  • Its use is however almost undisputed before words that begin with vowels. In this case the form is an apocopic l'.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

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

Pronoun

la

  1. these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /la/
  • Audio (Colombia):(file)
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Syllabification: la

Etymology 1

From Old Spanish ela, from Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille.

Article

la f sg (plural las, masculine el, masculine plural los)

  1. the

Pronoun

la

  1. accusative of ella, ello (when the antecedent's implied gender is feminine), and usted (when referring to a woman); her, it, you (formal)
  2. impersonal neuter pronoun (accusative) in certain colloquial phrases: it, this
    La sabe toda.
    He/she knows everything (it all)
    ¡Dónde la viste!
    Where have you seen this!
    No te la creo.
    I don't believe you.
Usage notes
  • Sometimes used where English would prefer a possessive: tengo algo en la bolsa (literally “I have something in the bag”) as opposed to tengo algo en mi bolsa (“I have something in my bag”). This is especially true with body parts and with articles of clothing or similar accessories.
  • Where a feminine noun begins with stressed (h)a-, though not common, el is used instead: el alma, el águila, el hacha. (The article remains la where an adjective intervenes between the article and the noun: la majestuosa águila.) The plural remains las.

Derived terms

Spanish personal pronouns
nominative dative accusative disjunctive
first person singular yo me mí1
plural masculine2 nosotros nos nosotros
feminine nosotras nosotras
second person singular tuteo tú te ti1
voseo vos vos
formal3 usted le, se4 lo/la5 usted
plural familiar6 masculine2 vosotros os vosotros
feminine vosotras vosotras
formal/general3 ustedes les, se4 los/las5 ustedes
third person singular masculine2 él le, se4 lo él
feminine ella la ella
neuter ello7 lo ello
plural masculine2 ellos les, se4 los ellos
feminine ellas las ellas
reflexive — se sí1
  1. Not used with con; conmigo, contigo, and consigo are used instead, respectively
  2. Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
  3. Treated as if it were third-person for purposes of conjugation and reflexivity
  4. If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., Se lo dije instead of Le lo dije)
  5. Depending on the implicit gender of the object being referred to
  6. Used primarily in Spain
  7. Used only in rare circumstances

Descendants

  • → Translingual: La

Etymology 2

Noun

la m (plural las)

  1. (music) la (sixth note of the scale)
  2. (music) A (the musical note or key)
See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Sumerian

Romanization

la

  1. Romanization of 𒆷 (la)

Swahili

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Proto-Bantu *-dɪ́a.

Verb

-la (infinitive kula)

  1. to eat
  2. (by extension) to consume, to eradicate
Conjugation
Conjugation of -la
Positive present -nakula
Subjunctive -le
Negative -li
Imperative singular kula
Infinitives
Positive kula
Negative kutokula
Imperatives
Singular kula
Plural kuleni
Tensed forms
Habitual hula
Positive past positive subject concord + -likula
Negative past negative subject concord + -kula
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nakula)
Singular Plural
1st person ninakula/nakula tunakula
2nd person unakula mnakula
3rd person m-wa(I/II) anakula wanakula
other classes positive subject concord + -nakula
Negative present (negative subject concord + -li)
Singular Plural
1st person sili hatuli
2nd person huli hamli
3rd person m-wa(I/II) hali hawali
other classes negative subject concord + -li
Positive future positive subject concord + -takula
Negative future negative subject concord + -takula
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -le)
Singular Plural
1st person nile tule
2nd person ule mle
3rd person m-wa(I/II) ale wale
other classes positive subject concord + -le
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sile
Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngekula
Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singekula
Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalikula
Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalikula
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -ala)
Singular Plural
1st person nala twala
2nd person wala mwala
3rd person m-wa(I/II) ala wala
m-mi(III/IV) wala yala
ji-ma(V/VI) lala yala
ki-vi(VII/VIII) chala vyala
n(IX/X) yala zala
u(XI) wala see n(X) or ma(VI) class
ku(XV/XVII) kwala
pa(XVI) pala
mu(XVIII) mwala
Perfect positive subject concord + -mekula
"Already" positive subject concord + -meshakula
"Not yet" negative subject concord + -jala
"If/When" positive subject concord + -kila
"If not" positive subject concord + -sipokula
Consecutive kala / positive subject concord + -kala
Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kale
Object concord (indicative positive)
Singular Plural
1st person -nila -tula
2nd person -kula -wala/-kuleni/-waleni
3rd person m-wa(I/II) -mla -wala
m-mi(III/IV) -ula -ila
ji-ma(V/VI) -lila -yala
ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kila -vila
n(IX/X) -ila -zila
u(XI) -ula see n(X) or ma(VI) class
ku(XV/XVII) -kula
pa(XVI) -pala
mu(XVIII) -mula
Reflexive -jila
Relative forms
General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -la- + relative marker)
Singular Plural
m-wa(I/II) -laye -lao
m-mi(III/IV) -lao -layo
ji-ma(V/VI) -lalo -layo
ki-vi(VII/VIII) -lacho -lavyo
n(IX/X) -layo -lazo
u(XI) -lao see n(X) or ma(VI) class
ku(XV/XVII) -lako
pa(XVI) -lapo
mu(XVIII) -lamo
Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -kula)
Singular Plural
m-wa(I/II) -yekula -okula
m-mi(III/IV) -okula -yokula
ji-ma(V/VI) -lokula -yokula
ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chokula -vyokula
n(IX/X) -yokula -zokula
u(XI) -okula see n(X) or ma(VI) class
ku(XV/XVII) -kokula
pa(XVI) -pokula
mu(XVIII) -mokula
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Arabic لَا (lā).

Interjection

la

  1. no

See also

Etymology 3

See -a.

Particle

la

  1. Ji class inflected form of -a.

Swedish

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

la

  1. past indicative of lägga

Etymology 2

Clipping of earlier fälle and fuller. Listed in a dictionary from the 1800s, and believed to have existed for longer.

Pronunciation

Adverb

la (not comparable)

  1. (dialectal, Gothenburg, Västergötland) Synonym of väl

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “La”, in isof.se‎ (in Swedish), Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore, 2011 June, archived from the original on 28 September 2020

Anagrams

Tagalog

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Interjection

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

  1. used in directing an animal to stop, especially carabaos and cattle
See also

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish la, from Latin labii.

Noun

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

  1. la (the note 'A')

Etymology 3

Influenced by Baybayin character ᜎ (la).

Noun

la (Baybayin spelling ᜎ)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter L/l, in the Abakada alphabet.
    Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) el, (in the Abecedario) ele
See also

Further reading

  • “la”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Tetum

Adverb

la

  1. not

Tsafiki

Pronoun

la

  1. I; the first-person singular masculine pronoun; the first-person singular pronoun used by adult men

Coordinate terms

  • čiʰké (first-person singular feminine pronoun, first-person singular pronoun used by adult women)
  • če (first-person singular pronoun used by children)
  • čiʰke-lá (first-person plural pronoun)

References

  • The Languages of the Andes (2004, Willem F. H. Adelaar, Pieter C. Muysken)

Turkish

Alternative forms

Interjection

la

  1. (dialectal) ulan

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

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

Verb

la • (羅, 囉)

  1. to cry, to shout
  2. (Central Vietnam, Southern Vietnam) to reprimand, to scold
    bị vợ la ― to be scolded by wife
Derived terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 騾 (“mule”, SV: loa).

Noun

(classifier con) la • (騾)

  1. a horse-donkey hybrid; a mule or a hinny

See also

Votic

Alternative forms

Etymology

From laskõa. Compare Estonian las.

Pronunciation

  • (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA(key): /ˈlɑ/,
  • Rhymes: -ɑ
  • Hyphenation: la

Particle

la

  1. let (with a verb)
  2. Forms a first-person ot third-person imperative.

Usage notes

  • Usually used with the standard personal forms of verbs.
  • The third-person imperatives using la (e.g. la teeb) are more common than the forms using -ko(d) (tehko).

References

  • Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “la”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Walloon

Etymology

From Latin illac.

Pronunciation

Adverb

la

  1. there

Synonyms

Antonyms

Wolof

Pronoun

la

  1. you (second-person singular object pronoun)

See also

Wolof personal pronouns
singular subject plural subject singular object plural object
1st person man nun ma nu
2nd person yow yeen la leen
3rd person moom ñoom ko leen

Xhosa

Etymology

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

Pronoun

la

  1. these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Xokleng

Etymology

From Proto-Southern Jê *ra (“sun”).

Pronunciation

IPA(key):

Noun

la

  1. sun

Yatzachi Zapotec

Noun

la

  1. name

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *lá. Possibly cognate with Proto-Bantu *-dáada

Pronunciation

Verb

lá

  1. to dream
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Proposed to have derived from Proto-Yoruboid *lá

Pronunciation

Verb

lá

  1. to lick, including with one's finger
    Synonym: pọ́n lá
  2. to become worn out
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Verb

là

  1. to be wealthy; to become wealthy, to become rich
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Verb

là

  1. to dilute a liquid
    Synonym: fi omi lú
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

Verb

là

  1. to shine like the moon/sun/light, to glow, to radiate
    òòrùn-ún là ― The sun shined

Etymology 6

Pronunciation

Verb

là

  1. to survive
Derived terms

Etymology 7

Pronunciation

Verb

là

  1. to cut, to divide, to separate, to slice
Derived terms

Zulu

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Pronoun

la

  1. these; class 6 proximal demonstrative.

Inflection

Stem -lá
Full form lá
Locative kula
Full form lá
Locative kula
Copulative yila
Possessive forms
Modifier Substantive
Class 1 wala owala
Class 2 bala abala
Class 3 wala owala
Class 4 yala eyala
Class 5 lala elala
Class 6 ala awala
Class 7 sala esala
Class 8 zala ezala
Class 9 yala eyala
Class 10 zala ezala
Class 11 lwala olwala
Class 14 bala obala
Class 15 kwala okwala
Class 17 kwala okwala

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia