baba

As one of the first utterances many babies are able to say, baba (like mama, papa, and dada) has come to be used in many languages as a term for various family members:

• father: Albanian, Arabic, Western Armenian, Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Greek, Marathi, Mingrelian, Nepali, Persian, Swahili, Turkish, Yoruba, Shona, Zulu
• grandmother: many Slavic languages (such as Bulgarian, Russian, Czech and Polish; a doublet of bubbe), Romanian, Yiddish, Japanese
• grandfather: Azerbaijani, Zulu (father, grandfather)
• baby: Afrikaans, Sinhala, Hungarian

These terms often continue to be used by English speakers whose families came from one of these cultures. In some cases, they may become more widely used in localities that have been heavily influenced by an immigrant community. Some senses were extensions of one of these family terms in the original languages ("old woman" from "grandmother", "holy man" from "father"). The "cake" sense comes through French, from Polish baba (“old woman”). The Middle Eastern word baba (as in Ali Baba) is rather a term of endearment, and is ultimately derived from Persian بابا (bābā, “father”) (from Old Persian pāpa; as opposed to the Arabic words أَبُو (ʔabū) and أَب (ʔab); see also Papak), and is linguistically related to the common European word papa and the word pope, having the same Indo-European origin. The Chinese word "baba", meaning father, comes from 爸爸.

• IPA^(key): (variously) /ˈbɑːbɑː/, /ˈbɑːbə/, /ˈbæbə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːbɑː, -ɑːbə, -æbə

baba (plural babas)

2. A kind of sponge cake soaked in rum-flavoured syrup.
3. (especially among people of East European ancestry) A grandmother.
   • 1993, Karen Dubinsky, Improper Advances: Rape and Heterosexual Conflict in Ontario, 1880-1929, University of Chicago Press:

     My baba, Ksenia Dubinsky, tells me that my education makes her proud.

   • 2001, Brattleboro Remembers, edited by the Brattleboro [Vermont] Historical Society, Arcadia Publishing

     I walked first for my grandmother, and my mother was sorry she had missed my first steps. My Baba was so proud, my mother later told me.

   • 2004, MaryBeth Bond, editor, A Woman's Europe: True Stories:

     As we made eye contact, I slowly began to wonder if she was Baba. I did not know my grandmother though I'd spoken with her several times on the telephone;

4. An old woman, especially a traditional old woman from an eastern European culture.
   • 1914, Russell Sage Foundation, Wage-earning Pittsburgh:

     Only two women, typical "babas" (peasant women) in the house from which I got my quilt and bedcloth, could be coaxed to pose;

   • 1986, Janice Kulyk Keefer, The Paris-Napoli Express:

     Laura hadn't known that anyone's mother could look like that, like the babas you sometimes saw downtown, bandaged in kerchiefs and aprons, sitting toothless in stockinged feet on small verandahs, peeling potatoes or beets or just shaking their heads and grimacing.

   • 2003, Colin Michael Hall, Liz Sharples, editors, Food Tourism Around The World: Development, Management and Markets:

     According to some, new volunteers are becoming more difficult to recruit and there are dark suggestions that 'money is being made on the backs of the babas', the dedicated, but ageing ladies who still spend countless hours of their time preparing foodstuffs for the occasion.

5. (especially among people of Indian or Chinese ancestry) A father.
   • 1849, Edward Bulwer Lytton, The Caxtons:

     The first time I signed my exercise I wrote "Pisistratus Caxton" in my best round-hand. "And dey call your baba a scholar!" said the Doctor, contemptuously.

   • 1998, Mulan (movie)

     "The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter. I've missed you so." "I've missed you too, baba."

   • 2002, Bend It Like Beckham (movie)

     Okay. Okay. Fine, baba. Let's just do it before something else goes wrong.

   • 2003, House of Sand and Fog (movie)

     "Do not be disrespectful, son. Look at me." "Baba, were you a Savaki?"

6. (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) A holy man, a spiritual leader.
   • 1995, Hugh J.M. Johnston, Tara Singh Bains, The Four Quarters of the Night: The Life-Journey of an Emigrant Sikh:

     While I was in Port Alberni, three babas came to Canada to raise money ...

   • 2004, Andrew Robinson, Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker:

     But according to Ray, 'all the babas my uncle knew were genuine. None of them was exposed. They were fairly humble people, not show-offs like the Maharishi ...

   • 2006, Suraiya Faroqhi, Subjects Of The Sultan: Culture And Daily Life In The Ottoman Empire:

     Most babas had little contact with written culture and are not therefore named in books and treatises.

7. (British India) A baby, child.
   • 1876, Sir George Otto Trevelyan, The Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay:

     That is to say, if I do not take care, I shall go on calling my darling 'Baba' till she is as old as her mamma, and has a dozen Babas of her own.

   • 1904, Rudyard Kipling, Traffics and Discoveries:

     For my child is dead—my baba is dead!

8. In baby talk, often used for a variety of words beginning with b, such as bottle or blanket.
   • 2004, House (TV, episode 1.14)

     Oh, it's storytime! Let me get my baba.

• baba on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• ABBA, AABB, Abba, abba

• Audio:

  (file)

baba (plural babas)

1. baby

• babetjie

baba (present baba, present participle babaende, past participle gebaba)

1. to treat with gentle care, to coddle

From Ottoman Turkish بابا (baba), whence Turkish baba.

• IPA^(key): /baˈba/

• Audio:

  (file)

babá m (plural baballárë, definite babái)

1. dad, father

   Synonyms: bábë, átë

• Baba Dimri

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/

bába

1. inflection of bábë:
   1. definite nominative singular
   2. indefinite nominative/accusative plural

• IPA^(key): /baba/

baba (Bengali script বাবা)

1. father
2. paternal uncle
3. son

(father):

• awa
• wa•

• van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

• IPA^(key): [bɑˈbɑ]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

baba (definite accusative babanı, plural babalar)

1. grandfather

   Coordinate term: nənə

2. term of address for old men

From Proto-Basque, ultimately from Latin faba.

• IPA^(key): /baba/ [ba.β̞a]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aba, -a
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

baba inan

1. broad bean
2. bean, green bean

   Synonym: babarrun

3. blister

• “baba”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “baba”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

• babè (Meester)

baba

1. father

   Synonyms: aba, abi, ayah, bapa'

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq, from Proto-Austronesian *babaq.

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• IPA^(key): /baˈbaʔ/ [baˈbaʔ]

babâ (Basahan spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. downstairs

   Antonym: taas

babâ (Basahan spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. shortness, lowness (based on height)

   Antonym: langkaw

2. (dialectal) bottom; below

   Antonym: babaw

3. descent

   Synonym: palos

4. disembarkment

   Synonym: lusad

5. act of going downstairs

   Synonym: hilig

6. decrease; lowering of quantity or measurement

   Synonym: ina

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• IPA^(key): /ˈbabaʔ/ [ˈba.baʔ]

babà (Basahan spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. (anatomy) chin

   Synonym: kuko

From padaba (“loved one, term of endearment”).

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• IPA^(key): /ˈbabaʔ/ [ˈba.baʔ]

babà (Basahan spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. (Tabaco–Legazpi–Sorsogon, slang) loved one

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baqbaq.

First attested in Antonio Pigafetta's Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo—detailing the first circumnavigation of the world between 1519 and 1522.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʔba/ [ˈbaʔ.bɐ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

bâbâ (Badlit spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. (anatomy) mouth
2. mouth of a river
3. outlet; aperture; orifice
4. talk; empty boasting, promises or claims

bâbâ (Badlit spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. to hit, be hit or injured in the mouth

Compare abaga.

• IPA^(key): /baˈba/ [bɐˈba]
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

babá (Badlit spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. to piggyback; to carry someone on the back

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:baba.

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

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

baba

1. father
2. dad

• “baba”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

• bába

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbaba]
• Rhymes: -aba

baba f

1. crone, hag
2. coward, milksop

   Synonym: zbabělec

3. (informal) girl, chick

• “baba”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)
• “baba”, in Akademický slovník současné češtiny, 2012–2025, slovnikcestiny.cz
• “baba”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Unknown.

baba (plural babanima)

1. Title of the second chief butcher

baba

1. plural of babli (a featherless fowl)

baba

1. Father

baba

1. termite, white ant

• Fiagã, Kwasi (1976) Grammaire eʋe: Eʋegbe ŋutinunya‎^[1] (in French), Lomé: Institut national de la recherche scientifique, page 101

From Zulu ubaba, from Proto-Bantu *bààbá.

baba

1. father

From Polish baba, probably via French.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑbɑ/, [ˈbɑ̝bɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -ɑbɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ba‧ba
• Hyphenation^(key): ba‧ba

baba

1. baba, babka (type of cake)

• “baba”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /ba.ba/

Borrowed from Polish baba, introduced in France in the eighteenth century at the court of Stanisław Leszczyński, king of Poland, duke of Lorraine and father-in-law of Louis XV.

baba m (plural babas)

1. baba (type of cake)

   baba au rhum ― rum baba

Onomatopoeic.

baba (plural babas)

1. (colloquial) flabbergasted
   • 1999, Anna Gavalda, “Ambre”, in Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part, →ISBN:

     C'était un Argentin qui mesurait au moins deux mètres, il souriait tout les temps. J'étais baba devant ses tatouages.

     He was an Argentinian who was at least six foot six. He was always smiling. I was stunned by his tattoos.

• “baba”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Attested since the 18th century. From the hypothesized Vulgar Latin *baba, ultimately imitative of children speech on the pattern of the repeated syllable ba.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbaβɐ]

baba f (plural babas)

1. drool

   Synonym: baballa

2. slime (mucus-like substance which exudes from the bodies of certain animals)

   Synonyms: baballa, limo

• baballa
• babar
• babexar

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “baba”, 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), “baba”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “baba”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

baba

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

Likely from Bengali বাবা (baba).

baba

1. father

• paa
• pagipa
• apa

A link of the term with the English bye-bye is possible but not certain.

• IPA^(key): /baˈbaː/, (Austria) [b̥aˈb̥aː]
• Rhymes: -aː

baba

1. (informal, Austria) bye-bye, see you, so long

• Especially in East Austria, baba is the most commonly used informal term for saying "goodbye".

• “baba” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “baba (Abschiedsgruß)” in Duden online

From Turkish baba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/

baba (indeclinable, predicative only)

1. (slang) boss, rad, fly

   Synonyms: Bombe, geisteskrank

   Diese Jacke sieht richtig baba aus.

   This jacket looks bare nang.

   Ich finde den Schnitt baba.

   I deem the fit thrilling.

A widespread areal word.

• IPA^(key): /bàː.bá/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [bàː.bə́]

bā̀ba m (possessed form bā̀ban)

1. father
2. Used as a term of address for a man of appropriate age to be one's father, or who shares one's father's name.

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

• IPA^(key): /bàː.báː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [bàː.báː]

bā̀bā m (plural bā̀bànni, possessed form bā̀ban)

1. eunuch
2. impotent man

Probably an early borrowing from Kanuri báwà (“paternal aunt”).

• IPA^(key): /báː.bà/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [báː.bə̀]

bābà f (possessed form bābàr̃)

1. paternal aunt

• Hausa vocabulary. In: Haspelmath, M. & Tadmor, U. (eds.) World Loanword Database. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

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

• IPA^(key): /báː.báː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [báː.báː]

bābā m (possessed form bāban)

1. indigo (the plant, or the dye from it)

baba

1. mouth

bába or bâbâ

1. mouth

Onomatopoeic.^[1] It may be a doublet of báb.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɒbɒ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• Rhymes: -bɒ

baba (plural babák)

1. doll (toy in the form of a human)
2. baby, infant (very young human child, particularly from birth until walking is mastered)

   Synonyms: csecsemő, kisbaba, bébi

3. (in the possessive, folk songs) baby, darling (term of endearment for a girlfriend, or less often, a boyfriend)

   Synonyms: kedves, (also in the possessive) pár

baba (comparative babább, superlative legbabább)

1. (slang) swell, neat (exceptionally good, pleasing or enjoyable)

• baba in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• baba 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).

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq.

• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• IPA^(key): /baˈba/, [bɐˈba]

baba

1. below

   Adda idiay baba

   It's down there.

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ba/
• Rhymes: -ba, -a
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

Borrowed from Betawi baba.

baba (plural baba-baba)

1. father

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

baba (plural baba-baba)

1. (nautical) rat

Cognate of Cebuano babá (“to piggyback”).

baba

1. to piggyback: to carry someone on the back

• “baba” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

baba

1. Rōmaji transcription of ばば

baba m

1. father

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/ [ˈbaː.bʌ] (“tree”, noun)
  • Rhymes: -aba
• IPA^(key): /baˈba/ [bʌˈba] (“herb”, noun)
  • Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

bába

1. Eugenia mananquil Blanco (a myrtaceous tree with an edible fruit)

babá

1. Laggera alata (a common composite herb with pinkish flowers)

• Morice Vanoverbergh (1933) “baba”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎^[3], Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 51

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ba/
• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

baba f

1. (colloquial, derogatory) woman, wife
2. (humorous) synonym of akùszerka (“accoucheuse, midwife”)

• Stefan Ramułt (1893) “baba”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), page 4
• Sychta, Bernard (1967) “baba”, in Słownik gwar kaszubskich [Dictionary of Kashubian dialects] (in Polish), volumes 1 (A – Ǵ), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 9
• Jan Trepczyk (1994) “baba”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1–2
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “baba”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[4]
• “baba”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

• baaba

• IPA^(key): /βàːβǎꜜ/

The first a is pronounced long.^[1]

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 6 with a disyllabic stem, together with mũgwacĩ, nyamũ, and so on.

• (Kiambu)

• (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including guka, gũtũ, mũguĩ, mũtwe, nyamũ, ruo, rũhĩ (pl. hĩ), rũkũ (pl. ngũ), taata (“my aunt”), ũta (pl. mota), ũthiũ (pl. mothiũ), and so on.^[2]

• (Ndia) The same underlying pattern as that of rũhĩ and mothiũ.^[3]
• (Nyeri) The same underlying pattern as that of mothiũ and ruo.^[3]

baba class 1

1. my father, dad

• (thy) thoguo; (his/her) ithe

Borrowed from a Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *baba. Doublet of buoba.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbaba]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

baba f (diminutive babeņa)

1. grandmother

• (dialectal) vace

• dzeds (“grandfather”)

• A. Andronov, L. Leikuma (2008) Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN, page 10

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/

baba f (diminutive babka)

1. midwife
2. old woman
3. woman

baba f (diminutive babka)

1. sponge cake

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “baba”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999) “baba”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

baba

1. father

• (Johor-Selangor) IPA^(key): /babə/
• (Riau-Lingga) IPA^(key): /baba/
• Rhymes: -abə, -bə, -ə

Voiced bapa.

baba (Jawi spelling باب, plural baba-baba)

1. father (male parent)

• bapa (bapanda, bapai, bapak, bapang, papa)
• ayah (ayahanda, aya, yah)
• abah (aba, bah)
• rama

Possibly borrowed from Persian بابا (bâbâ). See Baba (honorific).

• babah

baba (Jawi spelling باب, plural baba-baba)

1. A colonial Straits-born European, Eurasian, or Chinese man (as opposed to immigrant Chinese or European males)
2. (archaic) Respectful term of address for a Portuguese gentleman

• Baba

• “baba” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “باب baba”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, pages 72-73
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “baba”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 59

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq.

baba

1. below

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baqbaq.

baba

1. mouth

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baba, compare Malay bawa.

baba

1. to carry

• (phonetic) IPA^(key): [pˠɑːbˠɑ], (enunciated) [pˠɑ pˠɑ]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /pˠæɰpˠæɰ/
• Bender phonemes: {bahbah}

baba

1. father
2. daddy

• Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

baba

1. father

   La katskats tasàk à kəslah iyaw aŋatà à ahəŋ la baba aŋatà gà, tanəfà Yesu. (Mata 4:22)

   And immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Jesus. (Matthew 4:22)

• wawa

From Proto-Bantu *bààbá.

baba class 1a (plural wababa)

1. father

Inherited from Assamese বাবা (baba).

• IPA^(key): /ba.ba/

baba

1. father, baba

   Synonym: bap

• Shreedar, M.V. (1985) Standardized Grammar of Naga Pidgin‎^[5], Mysore: Central Institute of Indian Languages

From Assamese বাবা (baba).

baba

1. father, baba

baba

1. water
2. rain, rainwater

• Aboriginal Languages of the Pilbara: Ngarluma (1990); HG

• IPA^(key): /babaʔ/

baba (plural ababa)

1. termite

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈbaba/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈbaba/

baba f

1. alternative form of bába

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “baba”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba. First attested in 1393.

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /baba/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /baba/

baba f (diminutive babka)

1. (attested in Greater Poland) grandma (parent's mother)

   Synonym: babina

   • 1888 [1393], Romuald Hube, editor, Zbiór rot przysiąg sądowych poznańskich, kościańskich, kaliskich, sieradzkich, piotrkowskich i dobrzyszyckich z końca wieku XIV i pierwszych lat wieku XV‎^[6], Greater Poland, page 67:

     Meczko bliszszi po swe babe ku te dzedzine

     [Miec(z)ko bliższy po swe babie ku te dziedzinie]

2. The meaning of this term is uncertain.
   • 1868 [1472], Akta grodzkie i ziemskie z czasów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej : z archiwum tak zwanego bernardyńskiego we Lwowie w skutek fundacyi śp. Alexandra hr. Stadnickiego‎^[7], volume XII (quotation in Old Polish; overall work in Polish, Latin, and Old Polish), page 347:

     Que sibi cessit post matrem suam al. po babye

     [Que sibi cessit post matrem suam al. po babie]

3. (attested in Greater Poland) grandma (any old woman)
   • 1930 [c. 1455], “Gen”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka)‎^[8], 18, 13:

     Dopyoro bødø rodzycz, yusz bødøczi babø (num vere paritura sum anus)?

     [Dopioro będę rodzić już będęcy babą (num vere paritura sum anus)?]

   • c. 1500, Wokabularz lubiński, Lubiń: inkunabuł Archiwum Archidiecezjalnego w Gnieźnie, sygn. Inc. 78d., page 11r:

     Anus eyn weyp vel culus; versus: dum se curuat anus bąba, retro sibi sibilat anus - posterior pars alterius rzycz

     [Anus eyn weyp vel culus; versus: dum se curuat anus baba, retro sibi sibilat anus - posterior pars alterius rzyć]

4. (attested in Greater Poland) woman
   • 1907 [c. 1470], Jakub Parkoszowic, edited by Jan Łoś, Traktat o ortografii polskiej‎^[9], Żurawica, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Krakow, page 404:

     Babø bik bodze

     [Babę byk bodzie]

   • 1895 [1412], Archiwum Komisji Prawniczej. Collectanea ex Archivo Collegii Iuridici‎^[10], volume X, page 347:

     Baba stara

     [Baba stara]

5. midwife
   • Middle of the 15th century, Rozmyślanie o żywocie Pana Jezusa‎^[11], page 63:

     Jozef... wyszedł barzo rącze, chcąc wezwać... baby albo panie (obstetrices cupiens vocare)

     [Jozef... wyszedł barzo rącze, chcąc wezwać... baby albo panie (obstetrices cupiens vocare)]

6. pear (Pyrus communis)
   • 1900 [1472], Józef Rostafiński, editor, Symbola ad historiam naturalem medii aevi = Średniowieczna historya naturalna w Polsce. Ps 2‎^[12], number 206:

     Baba pira

     [Baba pira]

7. (attested in Sieradz-Łęczyca) (in the plural, astronomy) Pleiades
   • 1874-1891 [1466], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności‎^{[13], [14], [15]}, volume XXII, Łęczyca, page 22:

     Baby pliades

     [Baby pliades]

8. Corruption of the proper noun Bala.
   • 1930 [c. 1455], “Gen”, in Ludwik Bernacki, editor, Biblia królowej Zofii (Biblia szaroszpatacka)‎^[16], 35, 22:

     Spal z zonø otcza swego, ktoreyze to Baba rzekla (dormivit cum Bala)

     [Spał z żoną otca swego, ktorejże to Baba rzeczono (dormivit cum Bala)]

• Polish: baba
• Silesian: baba

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “baba”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Mańczak, Witold (2017) “baba”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “baba”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “baba”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “baba”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “baba”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk

Borrowed from Betawi baba.

baba

1. greetings for Chinese people (male)

From Proto-Bantu *-bába.

-baba

1. to taste bitter

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

Inherited from Old Polish baba.

baba f (diminutive babka or babcia, augmentative babsko or babisko)

1. (colloquial, somewhat derogatory) woman, crone, hag (female person)
2. (colloquial or dialectal, Far Masovian) wife, girlfriend (female romantic partner)
3. village woman (woman from the village)

   Synonyms: chłopka, wieśniaczka

4. (childish) grandmother

   Synonyms: babcia, babka, babunia

5. village seller (woman who sells things from the village)
6. (derogatory) pansy, big girl's blouse (male of weak or cowardly character)
7. babka (type of cake)

   Synonym: babka

8. (engineering) ram (hydraulic hammer)
9. (obsolete) witch; spellcaster
10. (obsolete) female beggar (woman who begs)

    Coordinate term: dziad

11. (obsolete) midwife

    Synonyms: akuszerka, położna

12. (obsolete, dialectal, agriculture) large sheaf of strangely decorated grain tied at the end of a harvest
13. (obsolete, dialectal, spinning) thick, round part attached to a screw next to a stool of a spinning wheel (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
14. (obsolete, dialectal) bunch of rags placed on a stick to block the lower outlet of a chimney above a fireplace
15. (obsolete, timber rafting) wooden block carved in the shape of a human head given to new rafters to kiss by rafters who are helping the new rafters with the rafting for the first time
16. (obsolete, fishing) narrow barrel with a pole through it, used for winding a seine line while fishing (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
17. (obsolete, sports) starting peg (peg that starts a game of croquet)
18. (obsolete, engineering) oak block with a handle used for tamping when laying stones, spreading gravel on road surfaces, etc. (Is there an English equivalent to this definition?)
19. (obsolete, art) leather pillow for applying paint in manual printing of canvases
20. (obsolete) female hireling; female worker
21. (obsolete) female pimp

    Synonym: stręczycielka

22. (obsolete) snowwoman

    Synonym: bałwanica

23. (obsolete) bogie (booger)

    Synonym: babok

24. (obsolete) bundle of hay used as a blockade for dangerous passages
25. (obsolete) rag on a stick or pole for sweeping
26. (obsolete) wooden mold for ironing clothes
27. (obsolete, sailing) boathook
28. (obsolete, sailing) knot on a mast twist that raftsmen can't undo
29. (obsolete, hunting) Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)

    Synonym: sójka

30. (obsolete) type of wild duck
31. (obsolete, university slang, games) leather ball
32. (obsolete) pelican (seabird of the family Pelecanidae)

    Synonym: pelikan

33. (obsolete) any of various freshwater sculpins of the genus Cottus

    Synonym: głowacz

34. (obsolete) tuna (fish of the genus Thunnus)

    Synonym: tuńczyk

35. (Middle Polish) female mourner, griever (woman who cries over someone's death at a funeral)

    Synonym: płaczka

36. (Middle Polish) whipping block
37. (Middle Polish) common pear, (Pyrus communis)
38. (Middle Polish) cannon; gun

    Synonyms: armata, działo

39. (Middle Polish, chess) queen

    Synonyms: dama, hetman, królowa

40. (Middle Polish) quack; herbalist (woman who heals with herbs, especially incompetently)

Borrowed from Persian بابا (bâbâ).

baba m pers

1. (Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism) baba (holy man, a spiritual leader)

Borrowed from Turkish baba.

baba f

1. stone figure used in cult or spiritual functions
2. (Middle Polish) jail; dungeon

• baba in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• baba in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “baba”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Paweł Kupiszewski (18.07.2022) “BABA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “baba”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “baba”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “baba”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 77
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “baba”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna
• Wojciech Grzegorzewicz (1894) “baba”, in “O języku ludowym w powiecie przasnyskim”, in Sprawozdania Komisji Językowej Akademii Umiejętności (in Polish), volume 5, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 102

From the hypothesized Vulgar Latin *baba, ultimately imitative of children speech on the pattern of the repeated syllable ba. Compare French bave.

• Rhymes: -abɐ
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

baba f (plural babas)

1. drool, dribble, slobber
2. (Brazil, vulgar) Cowper's fluid; pre-ejaculate

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

baba

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

• “baba”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

baba

1. mouth

• IPA^(key): [ˈba.ba]

baba

1. definite singular of babă

Cognate with Azerbaijani baba.

• IPA^(key): [pɑpɑ]

baba

1. grandfather

• 林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985) “baba”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar]‎^[17], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, page 126
• Ma, Chengjun, Han, Lianye, Ma, Weisheng (December 2010) “baba”, in 米娜瓦尔 艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 30

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba. First attested in the 15th century.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /bâba/
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

bȁba f (Cyrillic spelling ба̏ба, augmentative babetina)

1. (regional) grandmother
2. granny, grandma
3. (usually derogatory) old woman, hag
4. (derogatory) female person

• (grandmother; grandma): báka, nena

• “baba”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

From Proto-Bantu *bààbá.

babá class 1a (plural vababá class 2)

1. father
2. (Christianity) father (priest)

   Synonym: fata

Inherited from Old Polish baba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ba/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

baba f (diminutive babka)

1. (sometimes derogatory) woman; old woman (female person, especially an older one)

   Synonyms: kobiyta, niywiasta, (Cieszyn) żyńskŏ

2. wife; girlfriend (female romantic partner)

   Synonyms: ślubnŏ, żōna

3. midwife

   Synonym: hebama

4. grandma (mother of a parent)
5. female beggar (woman who begs)
6. female quack (female incompetent doctor)
7. female herbalist (woman who deals with herbs)
8. female matchmaker (woman who sets up couples)
9. narrowleaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
10. pile driver (machine for forcing a pile, a long beam, into the ground)
11. (derogatory) pansy, big girl's blouse (male of weak or cowardly character)
12. babka (type of cake)
13. scarecrow; female effigy
14. common pear, (Pyrus communis)

    Synonym: babka

15. large wooden hammer
16. pipe running from an oven to a chimney
17. (mining) hammer for mining
18. roof over the hearth of a furnace that discharges smoke into the chimney
19. chimney with a bulging, spherical shape
20. (forging) small anvil for striking a scythe or a sickle

    Synonym: babka

21. (agriculture) group of sheaves of grain next to each other covered in another sheaf

• baba in dykcjonorz.eu
• baba in silling.org
• Bogdan Kallus (2020) “baba”, in Słownik Gōrnoślōnskij Gŏdki, IV edition, Chorzów: Pro Loquela Silesiana, →ISBN, page 234
• Henryk Jaroszewicz (2022) “baba”, in Zasady pisowni języka śląskiego (in Polish), Siedlce: Wydawnictwo Naukowe IKR[i]BL, page 62
• Aleksandra Wencel (2023) “baba”, in Dykcjůnôrz ślų̊sko-polski, page 32

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba.

• IPA^(key): [ˈbaba]

baba f

1. (colloquial) old woman
2. (colloquial) girl
3. (dated) midwife
4. (dated) doll

   Synonym: bábika

5. (dated) puppet

   Synonym: maňuška

6. (dated) hash brown

   Synonyms: zemiaková placka, zemiaková baba

• babský (adjective)
• babsky (adverb)
• babisko

• “baba”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba.

• IPA^(key): /bàːba/

baba f

1. old woman, hag

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	bába
gen. sing.	bábe
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	bába	bábi	bábe
genitive (rodȋlnik)	bábe	báb	báb
dative (dajȃlnik)	bábi	bábama	bábam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	bábo	bábi	bábe
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	bábi	bábah	bábah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	bábo	bábama	bábami

• bábica

• “baba”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *baba, ultimately from nursery language.

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ba/
• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

baba f (diminutive babjina, augmentative babjiszczô or babskô, related adjective babjy, possessive adjective babjyn)

1. old woman
2. (derogatory) woman, broad
3. female animal

• Lorentz, Friedrich (1908) “bãbă”, in Slovinzisches Wörterbuch‎^[18] (in German), volume 1, Saint Petersburg: ОРЯС ИАН, page 10

From Proto-Bantu *-bába.

-bába

1. to be bitter

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

From the hypothesized Vulgar Latin *baba (“drooling, infantile talk”), ultimately imitative of children's speech on the pattern of the repeated syllable ba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/ [ˈba.β̞a]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

baba f (plural babas)

1. drool, dribble

   La chacha lavaba, y mientras lavaba, la baba se le caía.

   The maid washed, and as she washed, she drooled.

2. slime
3. (Venezuela) baby alligator, caiman or crocodile

• cieno
• lama

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

From Proto-Bantu *bààbá.

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

baba class IX (plural baba class X)

1. father (male parent)

• mama

• baba mkwe (“father-in-law”)
• baba wa kambo (“stepfather”)
• ubaba

From Proto-Bantu *-bába.

-bába

1. (intransitive) to taste bitter

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *babaq, from Proto-Austronesian *babaq (“lower surface, below, bottom”). Cognate with Malay bawah (“under, below”).

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /ˈbabaʔ/ [ˈbaː.bɐʔ] (“chin; lowness”)
    • Rhymes: -abaʔ
  • IPA^(key): /baˈbaʔ/ [bɐˈbaʔ] (“descent; getting off; downstairs; decrease; fruit picking in season”)
    • Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

babà (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. lowness; low height
2. (anatomy) chin

   Synonym: (Marinduque) sihang

babâ (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. descent; going down

   Synonyms: lapag, lunsad, lusong, (of stairs) panaog

2. getting off; alighting (from a vehicle or animal)
3. stepping down; abdication; resignation from office

   Synonyms: bitiw, abdika, dimiti

4. downstairs; basement

   Synonyms: ibaba, lapag

5. decrease; lowering (of quantity or measurement)
6. fruit picking in season
7. putting down the phone; hanging up on a phone call

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baba, from Proto-Austronesian *baba (“to carry (a person piggyback)”). Cognate with Malay bawa (“to carry”).

• (Standard Tagalog)
  • IPA^(key): /baˈba/ [bɐˈba] (“piggyback”, noun; “carried piggyback”, adjective)
    • Rhymes: -a
  • IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/ [ˈbaː.bɐ] (“(obsolete) loading into a boat”, noun)
    • Rhymes: -aba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

babá (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. piggyback
2. coitus of animals

   Synonym: kasta

babá (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ)

1. carried piggyback

   Baba ko siya.

   I am carrying him piggyback.

baba (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ) (obsolete)

1. loading a person into a boat

   Synonyms: pagsakay, paglulan

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /baˈbaʔ/ [bɐˈbaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

babâ (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜊ) (obsolete)

1. name of the Baybayin letter ᜊ (ba), corresponding to "ba"

• “baba”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
• Noceda, Fr. Juan José de, Sanlucar, Fr. Pedro de (1860) Vocabulario de la lengua tagala, compuesto por varios religiosos doctos y graves‎^[19] (in Spanish), Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier
• Santos, Fr. Domingo de los (1835) Tomas Oliva, editor, Vocabulario de la lengua tagala: primera, y segunda parte.‎^[20] (in Spanish), La imprenta nueva de D. Jose Maria Dayot
• San Buena Ventura, Fr. Pedro de (1613) Juan de Silva, editor, Vocabulario de lengua tagala: El romance castellano puesto primero‎^[21], La Noble Villa de Pila
  • page 2: “Abajar) Baba [(pc)] lo q̃ eſta alto”
  • page 99: “B) Baba (pc) aſi llaman eſtos [a nueſtra]. B. nombrandola .|. babayaon .|. ᜊ. baba ang maſoſonor dito. B. [eſta que] aqui ſe a de ſeguir. Pero ſi la eſcriven o pronunçian es [ſimplemente]. B. vſanla ſiempre conſonante como noſotros q̃ yere en la bocal como, bata, bang̃is, bago, &c.”
  • page 101: “Bajo) Baba (pc) no alto, mababa, ad) cualquier coſa baja”
  • page 103: “Barba) Baba (pp) la carne [y no] el pelo o barba ſin pelo [como la] dela muger”
  • page 147: “Carga) Baba (pc) de alguna coſa”
  • page 147: “Cargar) Baba (pc) enlas eſpaldas algo”
  • page 359: “Humillarſe) Baba (pp) y ſujetarſe [en lo] interior”
  • page 398: “Lleuar) Baba [(pc) en barco] a alguna perſona”
  • page 405: “Mano) Baba (pp) tener pueſta en la mejilla”
  • page 414: “Melancolico) Baba [(pp)] eſtar pueſta la mano en la mejilla”
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*babaq₁”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*baba₁”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

baba

1. father

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

baba m (Tifinagh spelling ⴱⴰⴱⴰ, plural ibabaten)

1. father

• IPA^(key): [ˈba.ba]

baba

1. father

   Synonym: aba

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001). A Descriptive Study of the Language of Ternate, the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia. University of Pittsburgh.

From Proto-Bantu *-bába.

-bába

1. (intransitive) to taste hot, spicy
2. (intransitive) to taste bitter
3. (intransitive) to itch

From Ottoman Turkish بابا. First attested in 13th century. Nişanyan suggests the current word is a result of onomatopoeia found commonly in many languages. (In that respect, compare also papa and mama as translingual phenomena for father and mother.)

Cognate with Southern Altai баабый (baabïy, “small baby”), папа (papa), Kazakh баба (baba), Bashkir баба (baba), Uzbek bobo, Uyghur بابا (baba), بوۋا (bowa), Turkmen baba, Azerbaijani baba (“grandfather”), etc.

• IPA^(key): /baˈba/
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba

• Audio:

  (file)

baba (definite accusative babayı, plural babalar)

1. father
2. bollard
3. (Bektashism) saint
4. (slang) crime boss
5. (slang) penis, dick
6. (Bursa) roundabout

baba

1. (slang) top-notch, high-quality, very good

• → German: baba

• “baba”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
• Aktunç, Hulki (1998) “baba”, in Türkçenin büyük argo sözlüğü (tanıklarıyla) [Great Dictionary of Turkish Argot (with Attestations)] (in Turkish), Istanbul: YKY, page 55a
• Devellioğlu, Ferit (1980) “baba”, in Türk argosu: Inceleme ve sözlük (Aydin Kitabevi yayınları. Sözlük dizisi; 1)‎^[22] (in Turkish), 6th edition, Ankara: Aydın Kitabevi, page 62a
• Püsküllüoğlu, Ali (2021) “baba”, in Türkçenin Argo Sözlüğü [Turkish Slang Dictionary] (in Turkish), 4th edition, Ankara: Arkadaş, →ISBN, page 35

Other scripts
Latin	baba‍
Cyrillic	баба‍
Arabic	بابا

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

• IPA^(key): [baːba]
• IPA^(key): [baːβa]

baba

1. maternal grandfather
2. term of address for old men

• “baba” in Enedilim.com
• “baba” in Webonary.org

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bàba.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaba/
• Rhymes: -aba
• Hyphenation: ba‧ba
• Syllabification: ba‧ba

baba f (diminutive babka)

1. midwife (woman who attends births, helping women in labor)
2. bundt cake
3. old woman (elderly woman)

• “baba” in Soblex

From Proto-Bantu *bààbá.

baba

1. father

Together with the polite yaya (“mother”), likely borrowed from Ternate baba (“father”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ba/

baba

1. father

The term baba is used for addressing one's father, whereas the term fao is used for referring to a father.

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[23], Pacific linguistics

• bâboop^[1]
• babeb^[2]
• papa^[3]
• baban^[4][1]
• pa-pa^[1]

baba

1. mother ^[5]

• IPA^(key): /bà.bá/

bàbá

1. father, dad

   Synonyms: baba, àbá, iba, bàá, bà

2. A term of respect or endearment for an older man, male relative, or a higher ranking man.
3. A title for a man of a specific occupation (ex. bàbá-alágbẹ̀dẹ (“blacksmith”)).

While bàbá is generally synonymous with baba, bàbá is a more restricted definition.

• ìyá (“mother”)

• IPA^(key): /bā.bā/

baba

1. father

   Synonym: bàbá

2. elderly man of wisdom, sage, elder

   Synonym: bàbá

3. revered or senior leader or entity

   ògòǹgò, baba ẹyẹ ― The ostrich, the most revered of all the birds

4. male ancestor

   Synonym: baba-ńlá

5. A prefix for given names in the class orúkọ àmútọ̀runwá, given to children who are believed to be reincarnations of a male ancestor. (ex. Babájídé, Babátúndé).

Chemical element
Cu
Previous: níkùlù (Ni)
Next: síǹkì (Zn)

• IPA^(key): /bà.bà/

bàbà

1. copper (chemical element, Cu, atomical number 29)

• bàbàganran (“bronze”)

Borrowed from English barber.

• IPA^(key): /bá.bà/

bábà

1. barber

   Synonyms: onígbàjámọ̀, agẹrun, gẹrun-gẹrun

Possibly from Etymology 3 (bàbà (“copper”)), in reference to the copper-like color of sorghum

• IPA^(key): /bà.bà/

bàbà

1. sorghum, millet, (in particular) Sorghum bicolor

   Synonyms: ọkà bàbà, jéró

2. dark red color, in comparison to the color of sorghum

   Synonym: ẹpọ́n

Adjective sense derives from ideophone sense

• IPA^(key): /bà.bà/, /bá.bá/

bàbà or bábá

1. (of an object) to be quickly and rapidly hovering

• rá bàbà (“to hover”)

bábá

1. plentiful

   bábá owó ― Plentiful amount of money

• ìbàábá (“secrecy, privacy”)

From Proto-Bantu *-bába.

-bába

1. (intransitive) to taste hot, spicy
2. (intransitive) to taste bitter

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

baba

1. simple singular of ubaba

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “ɓaɓa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “ɓaɓa (3.9) v.”
• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “ɓaɓa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “ɓaɓa (3-5.4) voc. interj.”