Wiktionary

ah

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ah"
Languages (33)
English
Afar • Albanian • Aragonese • Catalan • Chickasaw • Danish • Esperanto • Finnish • French • Galician • German • Hokkien • Hungarian • Indonesian • Ingrian • Italian • Juǀ'hoan • Latin • Mokilese • Old English • Palikur • Pohnpeian • Portuguese • Romanian • Scots • Somali • Spanish • Sumerian • Swedish • Tulu-Bohuai • Vilamovian • Zou
Page categories

English

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English ah, aa, a (“ah”), of imitative origin, or from Old English ēa, *eah (“oh, alas”), from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah (“ah”). Earliest recorded use is circa 1175 in the Ormulum: A, Maȝȝstre! icc wat tatt tu full wiss Arrt Godess Sune ("Ah, Master! I know for sure that thou art God's Son"). Some propose that the Middle English is borrowed from Old French a (“ah!, oh!, hey!”) (represented by modern French ah).[1][2]

Compare also West Frisian a, ah (“ah”), Dutch a, ah (“ah”), Middle Low German a (“ah”), Old High German a, aa, ah (“ah, oh”) (whence modern German ah), Faroese áh (“oh, ah, alas”), Icelandic æ, ai (“ah, oh”), Latin ah (“ah”).

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. An expression of relief, relaxation, comfort, confusion, understanding, wonder, awe, etc. according to uttered inflection.
    Ah, I understand now.
    Ah! It's good to be back home!
    Ah, the flowers of spring.
  2. A syllable used to fill space, particularly in music.
    • 2008, Britney Spears (lyrics and music), “Womanizer”:
      Boy don't try to front, uh, I
      Know just, just, what you are, ah, ah.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Noun

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ah (plural ahs)

  1. An instance of the interjection ah.
    the crowd's oohs and ahs at the fireworks

Verb

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ah (third-person singular simple present ahs, present participle ahing, simple past and past participle ahed)

  1. To give a cry of "ah".
    • 2005, T. R. Rhoads, Sinner, Sailor: A Memoir, page 221:
      Mother and dad oohed and ahed over Cindy. She was only two months old but already was developing her personality.

Pronoun

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ah (personal pronoun, plural we, possessive adjective mah)

  1. Pronunciation spelling of I, most often indicating that the speaker is using a Scottish or American (particularly Southern) accent.

Etymology 2

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From Hokkien 啊 (--a), Teochew 啊 (a7), Mandarin 啊 (a).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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  • (Singapore, Malaysia)
    • IPA(key): (Senses 2‒5) /ɑː˨˦/, [äː˨˦ ~ ʌ̈ː˨˦], (Sense 2, non-interrogative) /ɑː/
    • IPA(key): (Sense 1) [ä˨]
    • IPA(key): (Sense 6) /ɑː/, [ä˨]

Particle

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ah (Manglish, Singlish)

  2. Marks a tag question prompting the listener to clarify or confirm something.
    Synonyms: (Singapore) is it, izzit
    You’re dyslexic ah? ― So you’re dyslexic?
    • 1989, Eleanor Wong, Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities, page 3, lines 49–50:
      So how are you Jackson? Very busy, ah? Never come around to see me these days.
    • 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 80:
      Cannot talk-ah? God give you mouth for what? No courtesy-ah? Kanneena!
    • 2020 April 12, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, in SG Talk‎[1], archived from the original on 18 April 2020:
      Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?
  4. Used for emphasis; reinforces a short wh-question.
    • 2011 October 23, Rachel Chang, “LifeStyle”, in The Sunday Times, page 15:
      See how lor. Who’s going ar?
  6. Emphasizes the need for absolute confirmation or acknowledgment.
    Don't drink and drive ah...
  8. A filler word separating the topic of a sentence and its comment.
    The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.
  10. A filler word used to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.
  12. A vocative particle, used for direct address, by Chinese elders (over telephone calls, or if the addressee is far away).
    Hello? Joey ah? ― Hello? Is this Joey?
    • 1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill, →ISBN, Act 1, page 3:
      Susie ah, Emily here ah. This afternoon I'm going to town, anything that you're needing?

See also

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Etymology 3

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Imitative of a person gagging.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. Yuck.

References

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  1. ^ “ah”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ah”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

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Afar

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Pronoun

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áh

  1. this, these (masculine)

Declension

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Declension of áh
absolutive áh
predicative áha
subjective áh
genitive ahtí
Postpositioned forms
l-case áhal
k-case áhak
t-case áhat
h-case áhah

See also

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Afar demonstrative pronouns
masculine feminine
proximal to the speaker(s) áh táh
proximal to the spoken to amáh tamáh
distal wóh tóh
very distal wóttih

References

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  • E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “ah”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
  • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎[3], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Albanian *aksa, from Proto-Indo-European *Heh₃s- (“ash”) (compare Greek οξιά (oxiá, “beech”), Armenian հածի (haci), English ash).

Noun

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ah m (plural ahe, definite ahu, definite plural ahet)

  1. beech (Fagus sylvatica)

Hyponyms

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Further reading

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  • “ah”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎[4] (in Albanian), 1980
  • “ah”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006

Aragonese

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Etymology

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Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • Rhymes: -a
  • Syllabification: ah

Interjection

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ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)

Catalan

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Etymology

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Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

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IPA(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈa]

Interjection

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ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)

Chickasaw

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Etymology

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

Adverb

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ah

  1. yes
    Synonym: hohmi

Danish

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Etymology

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Partly borrowed from German, English, French, from Latin ah (“ah”), from Proto-Indo-European *ā. Partly also onomatopoeic.

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål ah, English ah, German ah, French ah and Latin ah.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. used to express pleasure, e.g. because something tastes good or feels nice
    Coordinate terms: mm, mums, namnam
    ah, sikken en dejlig pandekage
    ah what a delicious pancake
    Synonym: uhm
    1. used to express pleasant surprise
      "ah, velkommen Albert," sagde Sickert til prinsen
      "ah, welcome Albert," said Sickert to the prince
      Synonym: minsandten
  2. used to express reservations, slight disagreement, doubt etc.
    bliver man også nervøs? Ah ikke så meget
    do you get nervous too? Ah, not so much
    Synonym: arh

References

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Anagrams

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Esperanto

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Etymology

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

Interjection

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ah

  1. ah, oh

Finnish

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Etymology

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Found in a wide variety of languages, including but not limited to Estonian ah, Ingrian ah, Karelian ah, Ludian ah, Veps ah, Votic ah, Hungarian ah, Swedish ah, German ah, English ah, Latin ah. Tracing an exact origin is effectively impossible. Probably ultimately involuntary or natural.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. oh, ah

Further reading

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French a! (“oh! ah! woe!”), of expressive origin.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. ah

Derived terms

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References

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Further reading

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Galician

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. ah (expression of understanding, etc.)

References

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German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German ā, from Old High German a, ah, from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah. Cognate with Middle Low German a, Middle English a, aa, ah (whence English ah).

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. expressing understanding
  2. expressing contentment

Further reading

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  • “ah” in Duden online
  • “ah” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Hokkien

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For pronunciation and definitions of ah – see 鴨 (“duck”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 鴨).
For pronunciation and definitions of ah – see 矣 (“particle expressing completion”).
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 矣).

Hungarian

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Etymology

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Involuntary expression of emotions: surprise, impatience, desire, sadness, refusal.[1]

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. ah

References

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  1. ^ ah in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)

Further reading

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  • ah in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
  • ah in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Indonesian

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Etymology

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Unknown

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. oh, expresses compassion, surprise and dismay

Further reading

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Ingrian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Ultimately a natural sound. Compare Finnish ah and Estonian ah.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. Exclamation of wonder: oh!
    Ah kui siä oot käppiä! ― Oh how beautiful you are!

References

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  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 3

Italian

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. (sarcastic) ah! (usually ironic or sarcastic)
    Synonym: ha

References

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  1. ^ ah in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Anagrams

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Juǀ'hoan

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Pronunciation

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Letter

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ah (upper case Ah)

  1. A letter of the Juǀ'hoan alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Latin

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Etymology

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Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ā or perhaps *h₂eh₂.[1]

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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āh

  1. ah

References

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  1. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011) Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction, 2nd edition, revised and corrected by Michiel de Vaan, Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 250

Further reading

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  • “ah”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “ah”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Mokilese

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Noun

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ah

  1. (one's) thing

Usage notes

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Like many terms in Mokilese, ah has no non-possessive form; the third person singular possessive form (one's/his/her/its thing) is therefore treated as the lemma.

Declension

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Possessive forms of ah (loose inalienable possession, -ah stem)
singular possessor first person oai
second person oamw
third person ah
dual possessors first person inclusive asa
first person exclusive ama
second person amwa
third person ara
plural possessors first person inclusive asai
first person exclusive amai
second person amwai
third person arai
remote plural possessors first person inclusive ahs
first person exclusive imi
second person imwi
third person ahr
construct form in

Old English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Conjunction

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ah

  1. (Anglian) Alternative form of ac (“but”)

Etymology 2

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Verb

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āh

  1. first/third-person singular present indicative of āgan

Palikur

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Etymology

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

Noun

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ah n or f

  1. (neuter) wood
  2. (feminine) tree

References

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  • Languages of the Amazon (2012, →ISBN

Pohnpeian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Noun

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ah

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.

Etymology 2

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Noun

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ah

  1. shark mullet (Rhinomugil nasutus), at a growth stage of approximately twelve inches

Etymology 3

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Conjunction

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ah

  1. however, and, then
    I sukuhl, ah e doadoahk.
    I went to school, and he worked.
    Ma Soulik pahn iang, ah I sohte pahn iang.
    If Soulik goes, then I won't.

Etymology 4

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Alternative forms

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Determiner

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ah

  1. his, her, hers, its, third person singular possessive pronoun
    Liho iang ah pwoud.
    The woman joined her husband.

Etymology 5

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Interjection

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ah

  1. Oh!; commonly used as an expression of approval.
    Ah, ke inenen mai.
    Oh, you are really good.

Portuguese

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah!

  1. ah! (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah! (expression of woe, grief)

Quotations

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For quotations using this term, see Citations:ah.

Romanian

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Etymology

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Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

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ah

  1. ah

Scots

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Alternative forms

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Pronoun

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ah

  1. (Cromarty) who

References

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  • Am Baile (2009) The Cromarty Fisherfolk Dialect‎[7], Highland Council, page 8

Somali

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Etymology

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

Verb

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ah

  1. (intransitive) To be
    Bariis oo macaan ah. ― Rice that is sweet.

Spanish

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Etymology

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Imitative, similar to French ah.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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ah

  1. ah (expression of relief, realization, awe)
  2. ah (expression of woe, grief)
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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Sumerian

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Romanization

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ah

  1. Romanization of 𒄴 (aḫ)

Swedish

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Etymology

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

Interjection

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ah

  1. ah (expression of understanding, relaxation, contentment, etc.)
    Ah, jag förstår
    Ah, I understand
    Ah, det är skönt att få glida ner i jacuzzin och knäcka en kall öl efter ett hårt arbetspass i skogen
    Ah, it's nice [feels good] to slip ["get to slip" – redundant, but sounds natural] into the jacuzzi and crack open a cold beer after a session of hard work in the forest
    Greven såg ut över sina ägor och tänkte "Ah, underbart!"
    The count looked out over his lands ["ownings"] and thought, "Ah, wonderful!"

References

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Anagrams

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Tulu-Bohuai

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ah

  1. coral lime (for chewing/eating with betelnut)

Further reading

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  • Bohuai
  • Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)

Vilamovian

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Etymology

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

Interjection

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ah

  1. oh: expressing of surprise
  2. oh: expressing wonder, amazement, or awe
  3. oh: expressing understanding, recognition, or realization
  4. oh: preceding an offhand or annoyed remark
  5. oh: an invocation or address

Zou

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Etymology

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From earlier *ak (whence the possessive forms), from Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔaar (“chicken”). Cognates include Khumi Chin ae and Mizo ár.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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ah

  1. fowl
  2. (specifically) chicken (Gallus gallus)

Derived terms

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References

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  • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 49
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