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oli-. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
oli-, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
oli- in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
oli- you have here. The definition of the word
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Yoruba
Etymology
From o- (“nominalizing prefix”) + lí (“to have; to own”). The "o" prefix harmonizes with the initial vowel associated with the noun it precedes. Because /n/ and /l/ are allophonic, both oní- and olí- are essentially the same, and in Standard Yoruba, oní- will often have an /l/ when in compounds. However, in certain dialects, the /n/ and /l/ are not allophonic in this case, /l/ is primarily used like in Egba and Ekiti, while in Ondo or Ijebu, only /n/ is used.
Pronunciation
Prefix
olí-
- Alternative form of oní- (“a prefix (added to nouns to detail ownership or association to the noun)”)
- Synonym: abi-
- (Ẹgba) oli- + ilé (“house”) → olílé (“landlord”)
- oli- + òòṣà (“deity, orisha”) → olóòṣà (“worshipper of the orisha”)
- (Ekiti) oli- + ụgbajúmọ̀ (“fame”) → ọlụ́gbajúmọ̀ (“celebrity”)
- (Ekiti) oli- + ọ̀fịn (“palace”) → Ọlọ́fịn (“title associated with kingship and royalty”)
- (Ekiti) oli- + ọ̀yị́nyị́n (“gossip”) → ọlọ́yị́nyị́n (“gossiper”)
- (Ẹgba) oli- + ìgbín (“a drum associated with the deity Obatala”) + dé (“to arrive”) → Olígbìndé (“A Yoruba surname meaning "The igbin drummer has arrived"”)
- oli- + ọwá (“palace, king”) → Ọlọ́wá (“title of a king”)
- (Ekiti) oli- + ió (“money”) → olíó (“rich person”)
- (Ikalẹ) oli- + oghó (“money”) → ológhó (“rich person”)
- (Ondo) oli- + ọ̀bùn (“market”) → Lọ́bùn (“chief of commerce”)
- (Ondo) oli- + èkìkì (“oriki”) → lékìkì (“oriki chanter”)
Usage notes
- In Oǹdó, the "o" is deleted.
Derived terms