ውሻ
Amharic
Etymology
Borrowed from Sidamo woshsha (“dogs”), reanalysed as a singular.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwɨʃːa/
- Hyphenation: ው‧ሻ
Noun
ውሻ • (wəšša) m or f (plural ውሾች (wəššočč) or ውሻዎች (wəššawočč))
- dog
Usage notes
- The gender of ውሻ depends on the natural gender of the referent. As such, it may be translated as either male dog (masculine) or bitch (feminine) depending on the context. If the natural gender is unknown, the masculine gender is used.
Declension
Definiteness forms of ውሻ (wəšša)
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | ውሻ (wəšša) | |
| Definite subject | ውሻው (wəššaw) | ውሻዋ (wəššawa) ውሻይቱ (wəššayətu) ውሻይቷ (wəššayətʷa) |
| Definite object | ውሻውን (wəššawən) | ውሻዋን (wəššawan) ውሻይቱን (wəššayətun) ውሻይቷን (wəššayətʷan) |
| General object | ውሻን (wəššan) | |
Possessive forms of ውሻ (wəšša)
| Singular | Plural | Formal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First person | ውሻዬ (wəššaye) | ውሻችን (wəššaččən) | — | |
| Second person | m | ውሻህ (wəššah) | ውሻችሁ (wəššaččəhu) | ውሻዎ (wəššawo) |
| f | ውሻሽ (wəššaš) | |||
| Third person | m | ውሻው (wəššaw) | ውሻቸው (wəššaččäw) | |
| f | ውሻዋ (wəššawa) | |||
References
- Isenberg, Karl Wilhelm (1841) Dictionary of the Amharic language. Amharic and English, London: The Church Missionary Society, page 148
- Thomas Leiper Kane (1990), “ውሻ”, in Amharic-English Dictionary, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN