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fa-. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
fa-, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
fa- in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
fa- you have here. The definition of the word
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West Makian
Etymology 1
Possibly from an Austronesian language.
Pronunciation
Prefix
fa-
- increases the transitivity of a verb
- fa- + abo (“to be wounded”) → faabo (“to wound (someone)”)
- fa- + gei (“to be dead”) → fagei (“to kill”)
- fa- + kou (“to break (intr.)”) → fokou (“to break (tr.)”)
- derives causatives from intransitive and transitive verbs
- fa- + dadi (“to become”) → fadadi (“to cause to become”)
- fa- + milinga (“to think of, love”) → femilinga (“to make (someone) think of”)
- derives transitive verbs from nouns
- fa- + carita (“story”) → facarita (“to tell (a story)”)
- indicates reciprocity
- Synonym: mefe-
- fa- + galeng (“to scold, berate”) → fagaleng (“to scold, berate each other”)
- fa- + ruju (“to thump”) → foruju (“to thump each other”)
Usage notes
The prefix fa- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as fe-, fi-, or fo-.
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
Pronoun
fa-
- second-person plural clitic, you all
- foco ― you all see
Usage notes
The prefix fa- follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as fe-, fi-, fo-, or fu-.
Alternative forms
References
- Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours, Pacific linguistics
- James Collins (1982) Further Notes Towards a West Makian Vocabulary, Pacific linguistics