vara

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”).

vara (plural varas)

1. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of length, equivalent to about 83.7 cm.

   Synonyms: Spanish rod, Spanish ell, Spanish yard, (Spanish contexts) rod, ell, yard

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₈ vara) coto, (¹⁄₄ vara) palmo, (¹⁄₃ vara) pie, (¹⁄₂ vara) codo, (1+²⁄₃ pies) Spanish pace, estado, braza, (2 varas) toesa, (4 varas) estadal, (50 varas) cordel, (5,000 varas) legua

2. (historical) A traditional Portuguese unit of length, equivalent to about 1.1 m.

   Synonyms: Portuguese rod, Portuguese ell, Portuguese yard, (Portuguese contexts) rod, ell, yard

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₄₀ vara) polegada, (¹⁄₅ vara) palmo, (³⁄₁₀ vara) Portuguese foot, (³⁄₅ vara) covado, (English equivalents to the vara) yard, rod, ell, (1+¹⁄₂ varas) passo, (1+⁴⁄₅ varas) toesa, (2 varas) braça

3. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of area, equivalent to about 0.7 m².

   Coordinate terms: (100 varas) fanega, (1,000,000 varas) labor

• avar, arva, Avar

Inherited from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

• IPA^(key): (Central)
• IPA^(key): (Balearic)
• IPA^(key): (Valencia)

vara f (plural vares)

1. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod, ell, or yard, a traditional unit of length

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₃ vara) peu, (1+²⁄₃ varas) pas, passa, (2 varas) braça

• “vara” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “vara”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “vara” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “vara” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *warō, compare Swedish vara, German Ware, English ware. Cognate to Finnish vara and Livonian varā.

vara (genitive vara, partitive vara)

1. property, estate, goods; things belonging to a person or organisation

From Proto-Finnic *varas, borrowed from Proto-Baltic *vāras, compare Lithuanian voras (“old”). Cognate to Finnish varhain.

vara (comparative varem)

1. early

   Antonym: hilja

From Middle Low German waren.

vara (third person singular past indicative vardi, third person plural past indicative vart, supine vart)

1. to take, last, require (about time)

From Proto-Oceanic *paraq from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *para (compare with Ilocano pára).

vara

1. coconut heart or coconut apple, i.e. spongy cotyledon from a sprouting coconut

• Gatty, Ronald (2009) “vara”, in Fijian-English Dictionary, Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 292
• Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 3: Plants, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 373-4

From Proto-Finnic *vara (compare Estonian vara), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *warō (compare Swedish vara (“goods”), vara (“care”), English ware (“aware”), aware, English ware (“goods”)).

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
• Hyphenation^(key): va‧ra

vara

1. reserve, backup

   Mäyrä tarvitsee paksun rasvakerroksen talven varaksi. ― A badger needs a thick layer of fat as a reserve for winter.

   Minulla on ylimääräinen tulppa varalla. ― I have an extra plug as backup.

2. (in the plural) (natural) resources, (natural) reserves

   Synonym: luonnonvarat

   Irakilla on suuret öljyvarat. ― Iraq has large oil reserves.

3. (in the plural) stores, stocks, reserves

   Synonym: varasto

4. (usually in the plural) funds, means, assets, savings

   Synonyms: rahat, maksukyky (literally “ability to pay”), (asset) varallisuus

   Minulla ei ole tähän varaa. ― I can't afford this. (literally, “I don't have the funds for this.”)

5. (usually in the singular) room, margin; allowance

   Muista jättää kutistumisen varaa. ― Remember to leave an allowance for shrinking.

   Minulla ei ole varaa autoon.

   I can't afford a car.

   Meillä ei ole varaa virheisiin. ― We have no margin for errors.

6. (mostly in idioms and proverbs) caution, concern, care; often translated into English with an adjective, see also pitää varansa

   Synonym: varovaisuus

   Pidä varasi, ettet putoa. ― Be careful so that you don't fall.

   Ei vara venettä kaada. ― Caution does not overturn a boat. (proverb)

7. (woodworking) a tool for cutting long grooves into (the bottoms of) logs for fitting, or for drafting where the grooves will be cut

   Synonym: varausrauta

• “vara”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-04

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɾa/
• Rhymes: -aɾa

From Old Galician-Portuguese vara (“rod”) attested in the 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria, from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

vara f (plural varas)

1. a long and thin stick, pole or rod

   Synonym: valoira

2. shoot; twig
3. (historical, measure) vara, especially as a cloth yard, a former unit of length

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₃ vara) pé, (1+²⁄₃ varas) paso, (2 varas) braza

   • 1335, M. Lucas Álvarez, P. Lucas Domínguez, editors, El monasterio de San Clodio do Ribeiro en la Edad Media: estudio y documentos, Sada / A Coruña: Edicións do Castro, page 463:

     que den a uos Eluira Perez en uossa vida de tres en tres annos çinquo varas de valacyna noua ou os dineiros para ella, quantos ella custar enna tenda

     they should give you, Elvira Pérez, throughout your life each three years, five yards of new Valencian cloth or the money for them, whatever it costs in the store

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. inflection of varar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “vara”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “vara”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “vara”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “vara”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “vara”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːra/

  Rhymes: -aːra

From Old Norse vara.

vara f (genitive singular vöru, nominative plural vörur)

1. article, commodity
2. (in the plural form) goods, wares, freight, commodities, merchandise

• vöruheiti

From Old Norse vara, from Proto-Germanic *warōną.

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varaði, supine varað)

1. to warn

   Synonym: gefa aðvörun

Borrowed from Middle Low German waren (whence also Swedish vara, Norwegian vare, Danish vare), from Proto-West Germanic *waʀōn.

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (intransitive) to last, to continue, to go on

   Synonym: standa

   Hvað varir þetta lengi? ― How long will this last?

2. (intransitive) to last, to endure, to be permanent

   Synonym: endast

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

1. (impersonal) to expect
   • 1990, the song Það sést ekki sætari mey ("None sweeter than me can be seen") from the album Gling-Gló by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar (Lyrics)

     Og fyrr en mig varði
     hver strákur á mig starði
     eins og stelpur á gleym-mér-ei

     Before I would know it
     every boy would stare at me
     the way girls do at forget-me-nots

   Gestirnir komu fyrr en mig varði. ― The guests arrived earlier than expected.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of var

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. indefinite genitive plural of vör

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *waraz. Cognates include Finnish vara and Estonian vara.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/,
• Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

vara

1. protection, safety
2. property, possession
3. alertness, awareness

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 640

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/
• Rhymes: -ara
• Hyphenation: và‧ra

vara

1. feminine singular of varo

vara

1. inflection of varare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• avrà

From Old Norse vera (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *wesaną; see there for further details.

• (Western dialects) IPA^(key): ,
• (Hackås) IPA^(key):
• (Ragunda) IPA^(key): ^[1]
• (Fors) IPA^(key):

vara

1. to be

From Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Germanic.

vara

1. reserve

From Spanish vara, ultimately derived from Latin vāra.

vara f (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling ב׳ארה, plural varas)

1. stick, rod, crossbar
2. (diminutive form, typography) The rafe lines in the shape of crossbars that can be used in Ladino orthography as diacritics on Hebrew script to alter the sound of letters to create new letters; a breve diacritic (˘) is placed on top of letters to form fricative consonant sounds, such as changing פ (/p/) into פﬞ (/f/); usually referred to by the diminutive varrica (“little crossbar”).

From the feminine of the adjective vārus, vāra, vārum (“bent in; knock-kneed; different”).

• vāra: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯aː.ra/,
• vāra: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/,
• vārā: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯aː.raː/,
• vārā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/,

vāra f (genitive vārae); first declension

1. fork, forked branch
2. tripod, easel

First-declension noun.

vāra

1. inflection of vārus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

vārā

1. ablative feminine singular of vārus

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

See varš.

vara m

1. genitive singular of varš

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

vara f (4th declension)

1. power

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

vara

1. accusative/genitive singular of varra

• varen

vara m or f

1. definite feminine singular of vare

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɑː.rɑ/

vara m (definite singular varaen, indefinite plural varaer or varaar, definite plural varaene or varaane)

1. clipping of vararepresentant

vara (present tense varar/varer, past tense vara/varte, past participle vara/vart, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

1. alternative form of vare

vara (present tense varar, past tense vara, past participle vara, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

1. alternative form of vare

vara f

1. definite singular of vare

vara n

1. definite plural of var

vara

1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of vera
   • 1949, Alf Prøysen, Dørstokken heme [The Doorstep at Home], Høvik, page 20:

     Nå kunde det vara det samma med alt.

     Now, it could be all the same .

• “vara” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• arva, raav, rava, vaar

vara

1. genitive plural of vǫr

• væra, væræ

From Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera.

vara

1. To be
   1. to occupy a place, to be

• Swedish: vara

vara

1. excellent
2. noble

vara m or n

1. wish, boon, favour

As the masculine or neuter of the adjective above, as appropriate.

vara

1. second-person singular imperative active of varati (“to desire”)

Pali Text Society (1921–1925) “vara”, in Pali-English Dictionary‎, London: Chipstead

• Rhymes: -aɾɐ
• Hyphenation: va‧ra

From Old Galician-Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Spanish vara.

vara f (plural varas)

1. (historical, measure) vara, a Portuguese rod, yard or ell, a former unit of length about equal to 1.1 m

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₄₀ vara) polegada, (¹⁄₅ vara) palmo, (³⁄₁₀ vara) pé, (³⁄₅ vara) côvado, (English equivalent, reckoned as ⁵⁄₆ vara) jarda, (1+¹⁄₂ vara) passo, (1+⁴⁄₅ varas) toesa, (2 varas) braça

2. (historical, measure) square vara, a former unit of area about equal to 1.2 m²

   Synonym: vara quadrada

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₂₅ vara) palmo, (403+¹⁄₃ varas) aguilhada, (4,840 varas) geira

3. a stick, a twig
4. a district court, an original court, a trial court or court of first instance
5. (collective) herd of pigs
6. (collective) band of coatis
7. (vulgar, slang) the penis

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. inflection of varar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “vara”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2024
• “vara”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2024
• “vara” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “vara”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024
• “vara”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2024
• “vara”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2024

From vară +‎ -a.

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ra/

vara

1. in the summer

vara f

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of vară

vara (Cyrillic spelling вара)

1. genitive singular of var

vara (Cyrillic spelling вара)

1. third-person singular present of varati

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɾa/
• Rhymes: -aɾa
• Syllabification: va‧ra

From Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese vara.

vara f (plural varas)

1. rod, pole (a long thin stick)

   Synonyms: palo, bastón, barra

2. rod (a thin cane or branch)

   Synonym: rama

3. rod (a staff of office)
4. (bullfighting) lance
5. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod or yard (a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 83.7 cm)

   Coordinate terms: (¹⁄₈ vara) coto, (¹⁄₄ vara) palmo, (¹⁄₃ vara) pie, (¹⁄₂ vara) codo, (English equivalent) yarda, (1+²⁄₃ varas) paso, (2 varas) estado, braza, toesa, (4 varas) estadal, (50 varas) cordel, (5,000 varas) legua

6. (historical, measure) vara, a square vara (a traditional unit of area equivalent to about 0.7 m²)

   Synonym: vara cuadrada

   Coordinate terms: (100 varas) fanega, (10,000 varas) manzana

7. yardstick (a straight-edge tool for measuring length)
8. (figurative) yardstick (a standard used to establish a baseline for measurements or comparisons)

   Synonym: estándar

   • 2020 October 4, Franco Mizrahi, “La doble vara de la Corte Suprema de Justicia: los casos sensibles que posterga el máximo tribunal”, in El Destape‎:

     La inusual celeridad con la que la Corte Suprema de Justicia abordó el caso de los jueces Leopoldo Bruglia, Pablo Bertuzi y Germán Castelli expuso la doble vara con la que el Tribunal Supremo toma o deja los expedientes que le llegan.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. feminine singular of varo

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

vara

1. inflection of varar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

• “vara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

• IPA^(key): /²vɑːra/, (verb, usually) /vɑː/

• Audio:

  (file)

  • Pronunciation of the present tense form är usually varies between /eː/ and /ɛː/ depending on the accent. The pronunciation /ɛːr/, also occurs, especially when it is stressed, in ceremonial speech, or increasingly also due to spelling pronunciation.
• Rhymes: -²ɑːra, -ɑː

From Old Swedish vara, væra from Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera, Norwegian være.

vara (present är, preterite var, supine varit, imperative var)

1. to be
   1. to occupy a place, to be (somewhere)

      Var har du varit?

      Where have you been?

      Synonyms: befinna sig, finnas, ligga, sitta, stå

   2. to occur, to take place

      Det var fest igår

      There was a party yesterday

   3. (uncommon) to exist
      • c. 1847, Carl August Hagberg, translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1601), act 3, scene 1

        Att vara eller icke vara, det är frågan:
        Månn’ ädlare att lida och fördraga
        Ett bittert ödes styng och pilar eller
        Att ta till vapen mot ett haf af qval

        To be or not to be– that is the question:
        Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
        The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
        Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

      Att vara eller inte vara, det är frågan

      To be or not to be, that is the question

      Synonyms: finnas, finnas till, existera, vara till

   4. (copulative) Indicates that the subject and object are the same.

      Bruce Wayne är Batman

      Bruce Wayne is Batman

   5. (copulative, mathematics) Indicates that the values on either side of an equation are the same.

      ett plus ett är två

      one plus one is two

   6. (copulative) Indicates that the subject plays the role of or belongs to the group represented by the predicate nominal. This is idiomatically applied more broadly compared to English, as the examples below show. Including an article or making the noun definite – like in English – is not ungrammatical and does not change the meaning of the examples – it is only unidiomatic (and often intuitively redundant to native speakers, for example for giving a count of one (en/ett) to a role, similar to how "became a president" sounds to English speakers).

      Han blev president 2007

      He became president in 2007

      Jag är islänning

      I am Icelandic Icelander]

      Jag är iranier

      I am Iranian Iranian]

      Jag är tysk

      I am German German]

      Jag är amerikan

      I am an American American]

      Jag är britt

      I am British Brit]

      Hon är läkare

      She is a doctor

      Är hon bagare?

      Is she a baker?

      Han var soldat

      He was a soldier

      Han har varit löjtnant

      He has been a lieutenant

      Hon är lagkapten

      She is a/the team captain

      Han är frimurare

      He is a Freemason

      Han är filmfantast

      He is a movie buff

      Hon har blivit mamma

      She has become a mother

      Vem är far till barnen?

      Who is the father of the children?

      Vem är storasyster och vem är lillasyster?

      Who is the big sister and who is the little sister?

      att vara människa

      to be a human

      Hon är läkare, soldat och mamma på samma gång

      She is a doctor, a soldier, and a mother at the same time

      Hon är en skicklig läkare

      She is a skilled doctor

   7. (copulative) Connects a noun to an adjective that describes it.

      Såsen är krämig

      The sauce is creamy

      • 1917 translation, the Bible, Deuteronomy (Femte Mosebok), 1:26

        Men I villen icke draga ditupp, utan voren gensträviga mot Herrens, eder Guds, befallning.

        Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God.

   8. Forms a passive voice that indicates a state or a completed action. The examples below show comparisons against -s, which also forms the passive voice. The examples are kept basic for the sake of illustration and do not always represent the most idiomatic way to say things in either Swedish or English.

      Rummet städas

      The room is cleaned (is being cleaned right now (or, alternatively, is cleaned from time to time, as opposed to never being cleaned))

      Rummet är städat

      The room is clean ("is cleaned" in the sense of "has been cleaned")

      Rummet städas en gång i veckan

      The room is cleaned once a week

      Rummet är städat en gång i veckan

      The room is clean once a week (an unusual thing to say in Swedish as well)

      Huset målades förra veckan, så det var målat när jag gick förbi det för en timme sen

      The house was painted last week, so it was painted (had painted walls) when I walked past it an hour ago

      Vi räddades av en räddningshelikopter

      We were rescued by a rescue helicopter (a rescue helicopter came and rescued us)

      Vi var räddade

      We had been rescued ("We were rescued" in the sense of "We had (the property of having) been rescued" as opposed to "Someone came and rescued us" – "We were rescued" is used to express both in English, but Swedish separates them)

      Pojken räddades av hunden

      The boy was saved by the dog

      Pojken var räddad av hunden

      The boy had the property of having been saved by the dog (had at some earlier time been saved by the dog – odd-sounding in Swedish too)

      Pojken hade räddats av hunden

      The boy had been saved by the dog (for comparison – idiomatic-sounding)

      Bilen körs

      The car is driven (right now (or from time to time))

      Bilen är körd

      The car is driven (has been driven (in some context), has more than zero kilometers on the odometer (if talking generally))

      Synonyms: (when putting stress on the process) bli, (archaic, only still commonly used in the past tense form vart) varda

   9. (archaic) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs.

      Jag är uppstigen sedan en timme ― I have been out of bed for an hour

   10. Used to indicate things like age, height, temperature, weather, ...