. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Students performing wai.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /waɪ/ , /weɪ/
Audio (Southern England) (file )
Audio (Southern England) (file )
Rhymes: -aɪ , -eɪ
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Thai ไหว้ ( wâi , “ a gesture of thanks ” ) .
Noun
wai (plural wais )
A Thai greeting wherein the palms are brought together in front of the face or chest, sometimes accompanied with a bow .
Translations
Etymology 2
Phonetic respelling of why .
Adverb
wai (not comparable )
( Internet slang ) why ( a purposeful misspelling )
Anagrams
'Are'are
wai
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
fresh water ( clear liquid H₂O )
Antonyms
References
Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Aka-Bea
Adverb
wai
indeed
References
Edward Horace Man, A Dictionary of the South Andaman (Aka-Bea) language (1923)
Arosi
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Arthur Capell, Arosi grammar (1971), page 59: first and second persons precede the noun, whereas all others follow it, e.g. gugua wai, my drinking water, but wai 'ana, his drinking water.
Sidney Herbert Ray, A Comparative Study of the Melanesian Island Languages (2014), page 481: wai "water"
Buli (Indonesia)
Numeral
wai
eight
References
G. Maan, Proeve van een Bulische spraakkunst (1951)
Central Tagbanwa
Etymology
From Proto-Philippine , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai (Tagbanwa spelling ᝯᝡ )
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Robert A. Scebold, Central Tagbanwa: A Philippine Language on the Brink of Extinction : Sociolinguistics, Grammar, and Lexicon (2003)
Duri
Noun
wai
water
References
Language Documentation Training Center, Linguistic Society of Hawaii, Duri wordlist
Fijian
Etymology
From Proto-Central Pacific *wai , from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
Gothic
Romanization
wai
Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐌹
Hadza
Pronunciation
Determiner
wai ?
all (used with a possessive suffix)
Related terms
Hawaiian
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ˈwai̯/ , , ( rapid speech )
Etymology 1
From Proto-Eastern Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ (compare with Malay air ).
Noun
wai
water , especially of fresh sources
Derived terms
Related terms
Etymology 2
Verb
wai
Rare form of waiho ( “ to leave, deposit ” ) .
References
William Churchill (1911 ) The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced
Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986 ) “wai”, in Hawaiian Dictionary , Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press
Elbert, Samuel H., Pukui, Mary Kawena (1979 ) Hawaiian Grammar , Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, →ISBN , page 67
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Derived from English why .
Pronunciation
Adverb
wai
why
2012 , Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment , Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012 , →ISBN , Ruoman 11:33:[ …] Uu kyan se wai im mek op im main fi du di sitn dem we im du? [ …] You can see why he made up his mind to do the things he does?
Usage notes
For asking questions, ou kom is used instead.
Japanese
Romanization
wai
Rōmaji transcription of わい
Rōmaji transcription of ワイ
Kambera
Etymology
From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wài
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Marian Klamer, A Grammar of Kambera
Kapingamarangi
Etymology
From Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
Laboya
Pronunciation
Noun
wai
chin
References
Allahverdi Verdizade (2019 ) “wai”, in Lamboya word list , Leiden: LexiRumah
Lamaholot
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Kunio Nishyama, Herman Kelen, A Grammar of Lamaholot, Eastern Indonesia: The Morphology and Syntax of the Lewoingu Dialect (2007)
ABVD
Lau
Noun
wai
water
See also
References
Malay
wai
Etymology
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ . Doublet of air .
Pronunciation
Noun
wai (Jawi spelling واي , plural wai -wai , informal 1st possessive waiku , 2nd possessive waimu , 3rd possessive wainya )
river ( large stream which drains a landmass )
Synonyms: alir , alur , batang , bengawan , ci , kali , sungai
References
Mamasa
Noun
wai
water
References
Mamuju
Noun
wai
water
References
Mandarin
Romanization
wai (wai5 / wai0 , Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄞ )
Hanyu Pinyin reading of 𠰻
wai
Nonstandard spelling of wāi .
Nonstandard spelling of wǎi .
Nonstandard spelling of wài .
Usage notes
Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Maori
Etymology 1
From Proto-Eastern Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Nuclear Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Polynesian *wai , from Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ (compare with Malay air ).
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
liquid
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Compare Tahitian vai .
Pronoun
wai
who ?
References
Tregear, Edward (1891 ) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary , Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, page 589
William Churchill, The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced (1911)
“wai ” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index , 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN .
Masiwang
Noun
wai
water
References
Middle English
Noun
wai
Alternative spelling of way
Nauete
Noun
wai
water
References
Aone van Engelenhoven, The position of Makuva among the Austronesian languages of Southwest Maluku and East Timor , in Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history: a festschrift , Pacific linguistics 601 (2009)
Naxi
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *b(w)ay .
Adjective
wai
left
References
Naxi Dictionary by T.M. Pinson, Lijiang 2012
Neko
Noun
wai
water
References
Transnewguinea.org , citing McElhanon and Voorhoeve (1970)
J. Bullock, R. Gray, H. Paris, D. Pfantz, D. Richardson, A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Yabong, Migum, Nekgini, and Neko (2016)
Old Javanese
Etymology 1
Noun
wai
Alternative spelling of we ( “ sun, day ” )
Etymology 2
Noun
wai
Alternative spelling of wwe ( “ water ” )
Further reading
"wai" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary . 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.
Omba
Noun
wai
water
References
Catriona Hyslop, The Lolovoli Dialect of the North-East Ambae Language: Vanuatu (2001)
William Churchill, The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced (1911)
Oroha
Noun
wai
water
References
Owa
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Greg Mellow, A Dictionary of Owa: A Language of the Solomon Islands
Palu'e
Noun
wai
woman
References
Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Pitjantjatjara
Interjection
wai
hey
Pukapukan
Etymology
From Proto-Polynesian *fai , from Proto-Oceanic *paʀi , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paʀih , from Proto-Austronesian *paʀiS .
Noun
wai
stingray ( venomous ray of the orders Rajiformes and Myliobatiformes )
Hyponyms
Further reading
Raga
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond, The Lexicon of Proto-Oceanic (2007, →ISBN
Sa'a
Noun
wai
water
Alternative forms
Further reading
ABVD 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 (wai)
ABVD (wäi)
Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond (editors), The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic: The physical environment , Pacific Linguistics, 545-2 (Australian National University, Canberra, 2003), page 58 (wei)
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian wei .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /vaːi/
Noun
wai m (plural do Wege )
way
References
Dr. Fort, Marron, Dät Näie Tästamänt un do Psoolme in ju aasterlauwersfräiske Uurtoal fon dät
Seelterlound, Fräislound, Butjoarlound,
Aastfräislound un do Groninger
Umelounde
Sikaiana
Noun
wai
water
References
William Churchill, The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced (1911)
Siroi
Noun
wai
arm , hand
Further reading
Tae'
Etymology
From Proto-South Sulawesi *wai , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Tangoa
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic *waiʀ , from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waiʀ , from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ .
Noun
wai
water ( clear liquid H₂O )
References
Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond, The Lexicon of Proto-Oceanic (2007, →ISBN
Tiri
Adverb
wai
already
References
Osumi, M. (1995). Tinrin Grammar . Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. page 39
Tocharian B
Conjunction
wai
and
Torres Strait Creole
Noun
wai
( Eastern dialect ) a coconut embryo
Usage notes
Wai (eastern dialect) or musu (western dialect) is the first stage of coconut growth. It is followed by giru (eastern dialect) or musu koknat (western dialect).
Synonyms
Viti
Noun
wai
water
References
William Churchill, The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced (1911)
Waima'a
Noun
wai
water
References
Aone van Engelenhoven, The position of Makuva among the Austronesian languages of Southwest Maluku and East Timor , in Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history: a festschrift , Pacific linguistics 601 (2009)
Waropen
Noun
wai
Alternative form of ghai
References
The Linguistic Situation in the Islands of Yapen, Kurudu, Nau and Miosnum, New Guinea (1961)
West Makian
Pronunciation
Particle
wai
( sentence-final ) ; not yet
Alternative forms
References
Clemens Voorhoeve (1982 ) The Makian languages and their neighbours , Pacific linguistics
Ye'kwana
Pronunciation
Noun
wai (possessed waichü )
( in aichudi and ödemi chants ) Synonym of jüwai ( “ shaman ” )
References
Gongora, Majoí Fávero (2017 ) Ääma ashichaato: replicações, transformações, pessoas e cantos entre os Ye’kwana do rio Auaris , corrected edition, São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo, page 424