au

See also: Appendix:Variations of "au"

Translingual

Symbol

au

IAU recommended unit symbol for astronomical unit

Usage notes

IAU bodies, such as the Minor Planet Center, themselves frequently use AU instead of "au"

Synonyms

ua (BIPM recommendation for the unit symbol of astronomical unit)
㍳ (Unicode glyph for astronomical unit)

English

Noun

au (uncountable)

Abbreviation of atomic unit.
Abbreviation of arbitrary unit.
Abbreviation of astronomical unit.
Abbreviation of Absorbance Units.

Anagrams

U/A, UA, uA

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

ou

Etymology

From Old High German ouh, from Proto-Germanic *auk. Cognate with German auch, Dutch ook, English eke, Swedish och.

Pronunciation

(Zurich) IPA^(key): /æʊ/

Adverb

au

also, too

Aragonese

Etymology

From Latin avis, avem.

Noun

au f (plural aus)

bird

Arin

Etymology

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔaw, *ʔu (“thou”).

Pronoun

au

you (second-person singular subjective)

Catalan

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈaw/
Rhymes: -aw

Etymology 1

From Latin au (“oh! ow! oh dear! goodness gracious!”).

Interjection

au

now (as an incitement to action or to a decision)

Etymology 2

From Latin avis, avem, from Proto-Italic *awis (“bird”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwis (“bird”).

Noun

au f (plural aus)

bird
Synonym: ocell

Related terms

ocell

Cia-Cia

Alternative forms

아우

Etymology

From Proto-Celebic *asu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *asu, from Proto-Austronesian *(w)asu.

Noun

au (Hangul spelling 아우)

dog (animal)

Cimbrian

Etymology

The sense “north” may be reinforced by or a semantic loan from Venetian: vago su a Trénto (“I go north to Trento”, literally “I go up to Trento”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Adverb

au (Sette Comuni)

up, upwards
au un abe ― up and down
Au in de pèrghe machelts khalt
Up in the mountains it is cold.
north, up north
Ich ghéa au kan Triin.
I'm going up north to Trento.

Antonyms

abe, abar

Derived terms

au, au
denàu
ghéenan au naach
haltan au

References

“au” in Martalar, Umberto Martello; Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Czech

Interjection

au

ouch
Synonym: auvajs

Dutch

Alternative forms

auw

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɑu̯/
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: au
Rhymes: -ɑu̯

Interjection

au

ouch!
Au, ja dat doet pijn! ― Ouch, yeah that hurts!

Descendants

Negerhollands: au, o
Petjo: aoew

Esperanto

Conjunction

au

H-system spelling of aŭ

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *auvo, itself possibly from Proto-Germanic *auja-, compare Old Norse ey (“luck, heavenly aid”) and Gothic 𐌰𐍅𐌹- (awi-) in 𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌸 (awiliuþ). Cognate to Finnish auvo and Livonian o’v. Possibly related to the verb avama.

Noun

au (genitive au, partitive au)

honour/honor, respect

Declension

Inflection of au (ÕS type 26/koi, no gradation)

	singular	plural
nominative	au	aud
accusative	au	aud
genitive	au	aude
partitive	aud	ausid
illative	ausse	audesse
inessive	aus	audes
elative	aust	audest
allative	aule	audele
adessive	aul	audel
ablative	ault	audelt
translative	auks	audeks
terminative	auni	audeni
essive	auna	audena
abessive	auta	audeta
comitative	auga	audega

Derived terms

aus

Compounds

auhind
aupaklik
ausõna
autasu
meheau
mundriau

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Pacific *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)
my (belonging to me)

Finnish

Etymology

Natural.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯/, [ˈɑu̯]
Rhymes: -ɑu
Syllabification^(key): au

Interjection

au

ow, ouch

Synonyms

ai
auts

Anagrams

-ua

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/
Audio (France, Paris) (file)
Rhymes: -o
Homophones: aulx, aux, eau, eaux, haut, hauts, ho, o, ô, oh, os

Contraction

au (used with a singular masculine noun)

Contraction of à le (“to the, for the, at the”).
Il étudie la musique au conservatoire.
He studies music at the conservatory.

Anagrams

ua

Galo

Etymology

From Proto-Tani *fu.

Noun

au

grease, fat, oil

Hawaiian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈau̯/, [ˈɐw]

(rapid speech) IPA^(key): [ˈɔw]

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)

Usage notes

Unlike other personal pronouns, au has a separate object form aʻu.

Synonyms

wau

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *qau, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qaʀus.

Noun

au

era, period of time
current (water)
movement

Verb

au

(intransitive) to flow
(intransitive) to move

References

“au” in the Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition, University of Hawaii Press, 1986

Hiri Motu

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kahiw, from Proto-Austronesian *kaSiw.

Noun

au

tree

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [øyː]

Interjection

au

An exclamation of awe and surprise; wow.

Synonyms

nau
vá

Japanese

Romanization

au

Rōmaji transcription of あう

Kedang

Etymology

From Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *asu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *asu, from Proto-Austronesian *(w)asu.

Noun

au

dog (animal)

Kott

Etymology

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔaw (/ *ʔu) ("thou").

Pronoun

au (plural auoŋ)

you (second-person singular subjective)
you (second-person singular objective)

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /au̯/, [äu̯]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /au̯/, [äːu̯]

Interjection

au

Alternative form of hau (“expressing pain or grief; oh! ah!”)

References

“au”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“au”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
au in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette

Makasar

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qabu, from Proto-Austronesian *qabu.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈau]

Noun

au (Lontara spelling ᨕᨕᨘ)

ash

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Alternative forms

ahau

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *qau, from Proto-Oceanic *qaʀus, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qaʀus (“current, flow”).

Noun

au

current (water)
Synonyms: kato, āwai, ia
whirlpool; rapid
Synonym: ripo
wake (of a canoe, etc.)
sea; ocean
Synonyms: tai, moana

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *qahu, from Proto-Oceanic *qasu (“gall; gall bladder”).

Noun

au

gall; gall bladder
Synonym: kouawai

Etymology 4

From Proto-Polynesian *qahu, from Proto-Oceanic *qasu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qasu (“smoke; fume; steam”).

Noun

au

smoke
Synonyms: auahi, paoa
cloud
Synonyms: ao, kapua
mist; fog
Synonyms: haumaringi, kohu

Etymology 5

From Proto-Polynesian *(q)au (“howl, bark”).

Verb

au

to howl, bark (of a dog)

References

“au” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori-English, English-Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Middle English

Noun

au

Alternative form of awe

Min Nan

For pronunciation and definitions of au – see 漚 (“to soak for a prolonged period of time; to suppress one's feelings for a long time; etc.”). (This character, au, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 漚.)

For pronunciation and definitions of au – see 甌 (“cup”). (This character, au, is the Pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 甌.)

Miskito

Particle

au

yes

Antonyms

apia

Niuean

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)
my (belonging to me)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From Old Norse auk.

Adverb

au

also, too (used mostly in dialects)

Synonyms

òg
også

Interjection

au!

ouch!

References

“nb” in The Bokmål Dictionary / The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æʉ/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse auk.

Adverb

au

also, too

Synonyms

òg
ogso
også

Interjection

au!

ouch!

Verb

au

imperative of aua

References

“au” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Alternative forms

al

Contraction

au

Contraction of a le (“to the”).

Old Irish

Noun

au

Alternative spelling of áu (“ear”)

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
au	unchanged	n-au
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Polish

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aw/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -aw
Syllabification: au

Interjection

au

ouch (expression of one's own physical pain)
Synonyms: aua, auć

Portuguese

Alternative forms

ai

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈaw/ [ˈaʊ̯]

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈaw/

Rhymes: -aw
Hyphenation: au

Interjection

au

ouch (expression of minor physical pain)

Rapa Nui

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *au. Cognates include Hawaiian au and Maori au.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa.u/
Hyphenation: a‧u

Pronoun

au

I, me
- 1995, Rapanui: A descriptive grammar‎, page 153:
  Ko tikea 'a e au te moai nui nui ...
  I have seen a big statue.
  Note: This source does not show non-ambiguous glottal stops.

References

Veronica Du Feu (1996) Rapanui (Descriptive Grammars), Routledge, →ISBN, page 140
Paulus Kieviet (2017) A grammar of Rapa Nui‎, Berlin: Language Science Press, →ISBN, page 140

Romanian

Alternative forms

aŭ (old orthography)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /aw/

Etymology 1

Probably from a Vulgar Latin *habunt[1], as a conjugated form of Latin habeō.

Verb

au

third-person plural present indicative of avea
(they) have

Verb

au

(ele/ei) au (modal auxiliary, third-person plural form of avea, used with past participles to form perfect compus tenses)
(they) have (+ past participle)

Related terms

am
ai
a
ați

Etymology 2

From Latin aut.

Conjunction

au

(rare, regional, archaic) or
- 1883, Mihai Eminescu, Luceafărul 149–152:
  Dar cum ai vrea să mă cobor?
  Au nu-nțelegi tu oare,
  Cum că eu sunt nemuritor,
  Și tu ești muritoare?
  But how would I descend to thee?
  Or don't you understand,
  That I am immortal
  And thou a mortal art?

Synonyms

sau, ori

Adverb

au

(interrogative, rhetorical) well?, (now) really?

Synonyms

oare

References

http://www.lingv.ro/RRL%201-2%202009%20Nevaci,%20Todi.pdf

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic أَو‎ (ʾaw).

Pronunciation

Audio (Kenya) (file)

Conjunction

au

or

Synonyms

ama

Tahitian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)
my (belonging to me)

Verb

au

to sew

Tày

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʔawᴬ (“to take”). Cognate with Northern Thai ᩐᩣ, Lao ເອົາ (ʼao), Lü ᦀᧁ (˙ʼaw), Tai Dam ꪹꪮꪱ, Shan ဢဝ် (ʼǎo), Ahom 𑜒𑜧 (ʼaw) or 𑜒𑜧𑜈𑜫 (ʼaww) or 𑜒𑜨𑜧 (ʼow), Zhuang aeu, Thai เอา (ao).

Pronunciation

(Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ʔaw˧˧]

(Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ʔaw˦˥]

Verb

au (㓜)

to take; to seize; to receive
au chèn ― to seize money
㓜𦙦俙麻排對倍
Au săm hây mà pài đuổi vậu
I give out all of my feelings to them.
to marry
au căn ― to marry each other
𠬠丿[⿰弄下]道呂㓜夫
Một phít lồng đạo lả au phua
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

au châư
au làng
au lường

References

Hoàng Văn Ma; Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Chí (2006) Từ điển Tày-Nùng-Việt [Tay-Nung-Vietnamese dictionary] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Từ điển Bách khoa Hà Nội
Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎ (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003), Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎ (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội

Ternate

Etymology

From Proto-North Halmahera *aun (“blood”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈa.u]

Noun

au

blood

References

Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Tetum

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qauʀ, compare Indonesian aur.

Noun

au

bamboo

Tidore

Etymology

From Proto-North Halmahera *aun (“blood”).

Noun

au

blood

Tokelauan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa.u/
Hyphenation: a‧u

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *au. Cognates include Hawaiian au and Samoan a'u.

Pronoun

au

I, me

Etymology 2

From Proto-Polynesian *-u. Cognates include Hawaiian āu and Samoan āu.

Determiner

au

(alienable) thy, your

Etymology 3

From Proto-Polynesian *aqu. Cognates include Tongan aʻu and Samoan au.

Verb

au

(intransitive, + ki) to reach
(stative) to be matured at birth

Etymology 4

From Proto-Polynesian *qau. Cognats include Hawaiian au and Maori au.

Noun

au

current, flow (of water)

Etymology 5

From Proto-Polynesian *qahu. Cognates include Hawaiian au and Samoan au.

Noun

au

gall, bile
gall bladder

Etymology 6

From Proto-Polynesian *hau. Cognates include Maori au and Samoan au.

Noun

au

needle for thatching
comb of needles for tattooing

References

R. Simona, editor (1986) Tokelau Dictionary‎, Auckland: Office of Tokelau Affairs, page 3

Tongan

Alternative forms

ou

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /a.u/

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)
my (belonging to me)

Tuvaluan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *au, from Proto-Oceanic *(i-)au, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)aku, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)aku.

Pronoun

au

I (personal pronoun)
me (direct object of a verb)
me (object of a preposition)
me (indirect object of a verb)
my (belonging to me)

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔaw˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔaw˧˧]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔa(ː)w˧˧]
Audio (Hồ Chí Minh City) (file)

Adjective

au

bright and cheerful

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈa.u/

Verb

au

(transitive) to climb, ascend
taau to pu ― I climb the mountain
(intransitive, of the moon) to rise

Conjugation

Conjugation of au (action verb)
		singular	plural
		singular	inclusive	exclusive
1st person		taau	maau	aau
2nd person		naau	faau
3rd person	inanimate	iau	daau
3rd person	animate	iau	daau
imperative		naau, au	faau, au

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics (as aw)
James Collins (1982) Further Notes Towards a West Makian Vocabulary‎, Pacific linguistics

Western Apache

Particle

au

yes

[1] ttp://www.lingv.ro/RRL%201-2%202009%20Nevaci,%20Todi.pdf

au

Translingual

Symbol

Usage notes

Synonyms

English

Noun

Anagrams

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adverb

Aragonese

Etymology

Noun

Arin

Etymology

Pronoun

Catalan

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Interjection

Etymology 2

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Cia-Cia

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

Cimbrian

Etymology

Adverb

Antonyms

Derived terms

References

Czech

Interjection

Dutch

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Interjection

Descendants

Esperanto

Conjunction

Estonian

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Compounds

Fijian

Etymology

Pronoun

See also

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Synonyms

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Contraction

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Galo

Etymology

Noun

Hawaiian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Usage notes

Synonyms

See also

Etymology 2

Noun