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Basque
Etymology
Probably related to m- .
Prefix
ma-
Non-productive prefix without a specific meaning.
Usage notes
In words where this prefix can be found, it takes the place of the first syllable of the original word, usually with no change in meaning (compare udare and madari , both meaning "pear"). It is likely that originally this was an expressive prefix, and that many Basque words starting with ma- contain this prefix, with the original word having been lost.
References
Bikol Central
Prefix
ma-
Used to form adjectives indicating a quality
ma- + linig ( “ to clean ” ) → malinig ( “ clean ” )
Object IV trigger infinitive verb prefix
ma- + dumog ( “ wet ” ) → madumog ( “ to become wet ” )
Object trigger to have done something; to be able to do something
ma- + tapos ( “ finish ” ) → matapos ( “ to be able to finish something ” )
Natapos kong basahon an libro kasubanggi. ― I was able to finish reading the book last night.
Object trigger to perform the action of the verb unintentionally
ma- + pasa ( “ broken, break ” ) → mapasa ( “ to break something unintentionally ” )
Napasa ko an salming. ― I unintentionally broke the mirror. Compare it when used with the suffix -on :
pasa ( “ broken, break ” ) + -on → pasaon ( “ to break something on purpose ” )
Pinasa ko an salming. ― I broke the mirror on purpose.
to form the future tense of the verb.
Cebuano
Prefix
ma-
Used to form adjectives indicating a quality
Used to form the future tense of a verb
Chichewa
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Gabadi
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma-
marks irrealis mood, particularly in command forms. it is typically preceded by a subject marker
ma- + paura ( “ work ” ) → amapaura ( “ i should work (a- 1sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work) ” )
ma- + paura ( “ work ” ) → omapaura ( “ you work (command) (o- 2sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work) ” )
ma- + paura ( “ work ” ) → emapaura ( “ he/she should work (e- 3sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work) ” )
Derived terms
Category Gabadi terms prefixed with ma- not found
References
Oa, Morea and Ma`oni Paul. (2014-02-24). Tentative Grammar Description for the Gabadi Language . . Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL International. Available online: . For the prefix ma- , see page 39, section "9 residue" and page 36, section "7.2 commands (imperative sentences)".
Hausa
Etymology
Cognate to the set of prefixes found in Arabic : مُ ( mu ) for agentive participles, مَ ( ma ) for locatives, and مِ ( mi ) for instrumentals.
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma-
Used to form agentive nouns.
Used to form nouns of place (locative nouns).
Used to form instrumental nouns.
Usage notes
Each prefix forms a different template to which the noun must conform:
Agentive nouns end in -ī in the masculine singular, -ìyā in the feminine singular, and -ā in the plural, and the root has low tone in the masculine and plural, but high tone in the feminine.
Locative nouns end in -ā and are feminine, or uncommonly in -ī and are masculine, with all high tone in either case. There is rarely a plural form.
Instrumental nouns end in -ī and are masculine, with plurals in -ai . The tones of the singular form are all high, and in the plural the tones are all low except for the plural morpheme.
Derived terms
Hawaiian
Etymology 1
From Proto-Polynesian *ma- ( “ stativising prefix ” ) . Compare Maori ma- , Fijian ma- .
Prefix
ma-
prefix indicating quality or state
ma- + kala ( “ loosen ” , transitive verb ) → makala ( “ loosen ” , stative verb )
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From ma .
Prefix
ma-
prefixed form of the locative preposition ma
ma- + kai ( “ sea ” ) → makai ( “ seaward ” )
ma- + hope ( “ after ” ) → mahope ( “ afterwards, later ” )
Further reading
Japanese
Romanization
ma-
Rōmaji transcription of ま
Kambera
Pronoun
ma-
first person plural exclusive nominative proclitic
See also
Kongo
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
class 6 prefix
Maori
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *ma- ( “ stativising prefix ” ) . Compare Hawaiian ma- , Fijian ma- .
Prefix
ma-
fossilised prefix found on some adjectives
Usage notes
No longer productive in contemporary Maori.
Derived terms
Northern Sotho
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Old Javanese
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
Prefix
ma-
active verb
Synonyms
Derived terms
Pitjantjatjara
Prefix
ma-
away (prefixed to verbs)
Usage notes
The hyphen is normally kept, for example, ma-pitjanyi .
Although ma- is spelt with a short a , the vowel is actually long (maa- ). The misleading spelling exists for historical reasons.
Shona
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Sotho
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Swahili
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma-
ma class(VI) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting mass nouns and plurals of a variety of classes
ma ji ma chafu ― dirty water
forms plurals of ji class(V) nouns
jicho ( “ eye ” ) → macho ( “ eyes ” )
jambo ( “ thing ” ) → mambo ( “ things ” )
chungwa ( “ orange ” ) → machungwa ( “ oranges ” )
jitu ( “ giant ” ) → majitu ( “ giants ” )
forms plurals of some u class(XI) nouns
ugomvi ( “ quarrel ” ) → magomvi ( “ quarrels ” )
forms collectives of n class(IX) nouns
ma- + rafiki ( “ friend ” ) → marafiki ( “ group of friends ” )
See also
Tagalog
Etymology 1
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma- , from Proto-Austronesian *ma- ( stative prefix ) . Compare may ( existential marker ) .
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma- (Baybayin spelling ᜋ )
used to form adjectives indicating a quality
ma- + linis ( “ cleanliness ” ) → malinis ( “ clean ” )
( actor III trigger prefix ) : infinitive form
ma- + ligo ( “ bath ” ) → maligo ( “ to take a bath; to bathe ” )
( object IV trigger prefix ) : infinitive form
ma- + basa ( “ wet ” ) → mabasa ( “ to become wet ” )
to have done something; to be able to do something
ma- + tapos ( “ finish ” ) → matapos ( “ to be able to finish something ” )
Natapos kong basahin ang libro kagabi. ― I was able to finish reading the book last night.
to perform the action of the verb unintentionally
Coordinate term: -in
ma- + basag ( “ break, crack ” ) → mabasag ( “ to break something unintentionally ” )
Nabasag ko ang salamin. ― I broke the mirror (unintentionally )
Usage notes
Using ma- implies that the action performed is unintentional, while -in is used when the action was done on purpose:
basag ( “ break, crack ” ) + -in → basagin ( “ to break something on purpose ” )
Binasag ko ang salamin. ― I broke the mirror (on purpose )
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Austronesian *ma- ( future prefix ) .
Pronunciation
Prefix
má- (Baybayin spelling ᜋ ) ( dialectal )
used to form contemplative aspects of verbs prefixed with um- or infixed with -um-
See also
Further reading
Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ma- ”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
Anagrams
Tausug
Pronunciation
( Sinūgan Parianun ) IPA (key ) : /ma/
Syllabification: ma-
Prefix
ma- (Sulat Sūg spelling مَ )
Used to form adjectives and adverbs; characterized by; abundant in
Derived terms
Ternate
Etymology 1
Pronoun
ma- (Jawi م- )
( non-human ) third-person singular and plural possessive prefix , its , their
indicates definiteness
haka ngori ma obo ― give me the bone (literally, “give me its bone ”)
ma ngofa hotu ― the child sleeps (literally, “its child sleeps ”)
See also
Ternate personal pronouns
independent
subject proclitic
possessive
informal
formal
singular
1st person
ngori
fangare m , fajaru f
to
ri
2nd person
ngana
ngoni , jou ngoni
no
ni
3rd person
una m , mina f
o m , mo f , i nh
i m , mi f , ma nh
plural
1st person inclusive
ngone
fo
na , nga
1st person exclusive
ngomi
fangare ngomi m , fajaru ngomi f , fara ngomi 1
mi
mi , mia
2nd person
ngoni
ni
na , nia
3rd person
ana h , ena nh
i h, nh , yo h, † , ya nh, †
na h , nga h , ma nh
unmarked pronouns are gender non-specific
m - masculine, f - feminine, h - human, nh - non-human
1 - for mixed-gender groups
† - archaic
Etymology 2
Prefix
ma- (Jawi م- )
marks certain verbal aspects
indicates prolonged duration
indicates repeated action
ma- + kokehe ( “ to cough ” ) → makokehe ( “ to cough repeatedly ” )
indicates habitual action
indicates an action undertaken by multiple subjects
Etymology 3
Prefix
ma- (Jawi م- )
reflexive
ma- + doto ( “ to teach ” ) → madoto ( “ to learn ” )
ma- + hodo ( “ to pour ” ) → mahodo ( “ to bathe ” )
ma- + ngadi ( “ to clothe (another) ” ) → mangadi ( “ to put on clothes, to don ” )
References
Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890 ) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate , E.J. Brill
Rika Hayami-Allen (2001 ) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia , University of Pittsburgh
Tsonga
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Tswana
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Tumbuka
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Venda
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
West Makian
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma-
a prefix of unclear meaning
ma- + gei ( “ to be dead ” ) → magei ( “ to die ” )
ma- + dadi ( “ to become ” ) → madadi ( “ to be, exist ” )
Usage notes
The prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony , and as such may surface as me- , mi- , or mo- .
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ma-
first-person plural inclusive clitic , we
mo co ― we see
Usage notes
The prefix ma- follows West Makian vowel harmony , and as such may surface as me- , mi- , or mo- .
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ma-
( animate ) third-person singular clitic for stative verbs , it
ma dadi sangaji ― he became a chief
di oma ma ma kaku i ― their child is still small
Usage notes
This clitic is only for stative verbs and does not undergo vowel harmony.
Etymology 4
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ma-
( animate ) third-person singular possessive prefix , his , hers , that person's, that being's
Usage notes
The possessive prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony , and as such may surface as me- , mi- , or mo- .
See also
West Makian personal pronouns
independent
possessive prefix
1st person singular
de
ti
2nd person singular
ni
ni
3rd person singular
me
mV an. , dV inan.
1st person plural
inclusive
ene
nV
exclusive
imi
mi
2nd person plural
ini
fi
3rd person plural
eme
di
Etymology 5
Pronunciation
Prefix
ma-
forms adverbial numerals
ma- + minye ( “ one ” ) → maminye ( “ once ” )
ma- + unge ( “ three ” ) → maunge ( “ thrice ” )
References
Clemens Voorhoeve (1982 ) The Makian languages and their neighbours , Pacific linguistics
Xhosa
Etymology
From a clipping of makhe ( “ hortative marker ” ) .
Prefix
ma-
let , may ; gives a verb a hortative force.
Usage notes
The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.
Yao
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-
Noun
ma-
Class 6 noun prefix.
Zulu
Etymology 1
From Proto-Bantu *mà- .
Prefix
ma-
Class 6 simple noun prefix.
Etymology 2
From a clipping of make ( “ hortative marker ” ) .
Prefix
ma-
let , may ; gives a verb a hortative force.
Usage notes
The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.
References