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-μα. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-μα, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-μα in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-μα you have here. The definition of the word
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Ancient Greek
Etymology
From Proto-Hellenic *-mə, from Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥, with -ματ- (-mat-) from Proto-Hellenic *-mət-, from *-mn̥-to- (seen in Latin -mentum).
Pronunciation
Suffix
-μᾰ • (-ma) n (genitive -μᾰτος); third declension
- Added to verbal stems to form neuter nouns denoting the result or effect of an action, a particular instance of an action, or the object of an action
- ἀθλέω (athléō, “compete”) → ἄθλημα (áthlēma, “contest”)
- ἀθύρω (athúrō, “play”) → ἄθυρμα (áthurma, “toy”)
- βδελύττομαι (bdelúttomai, “to feel nausea, to be sick”) → βδέλυγμα (bdélugma, “abomination”)
- γράφω (gráphō, “write”) → γράμμα (grámma, “that which is written, letter”)
- δέρω (dérō, “flay, skin”) → δέρμα (dérma, “skin”)
- ἐκπῑ́νω (ekpī́nō, “drink out”) → ἔκπωμα (ékpōma, “drinking-cup”)
- θεωρέω (theōréō, “observe”) → θεώρημα (theṓrēma, “observation, theorem”)
- μανθάνω (manthánō, “learn”) → μάθημα (máthēma, “lesson”)
- νοέω (noéō, “think”) → νόημα (nóēma, “thought”)
- ποιέω (poiéō, “make”) → ποίημα (poíēma, “poem, or in general something made”)
- σπείρω (speírō, “sow”) → σπέρμα (spérma, “that which is sown, seed”)
- σχίζω (skhízō, “divide”) → σχίσμα (skhísma, “that which is divided”)
- τέμνω (témnō, “cut”) → τμῆμα (tmêma, “section”)
Usage notes
Resulting nouns always have recessive accent.
Inflection
Derived terms
References
- Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920) “Part III: Formation of Words”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 861
- Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN
Greek
Etymology
Inherited from the Ancient Greek -μα (-ma).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ma/
Suffix
-μα • (-ma) n
- added to a verb form to create gerund and action nouns:
- καπνίζω (kapnízo, “to smoke”) + -μα (-ma) → κάπνισμα (kápnisma, “smoking”)
- ζεσταίνω (zestaíno, “to heat up”) + -μα (-ma) → ζέσταμα (zéstama, “warming up”)
- τελειώνω (teleióno, “to end”) + -μα (-ma) → τελείωμα (teleíoma, “ending”)
- ανοίγω (anoígo, “to open”) + -μα (-ma) → άνοιγμα (ánoigma, “opening”)
Declension
Synonyms
Derived terms