ma-

Probably related to m-.

ma-

1. Non-productive prefix without a specific meaning.

In words where this prefix can be found, it takes the place of the first syllable of the original word, usually with no change in meaning (compare udare and madari, both meaning "pear"). It is likely that originally this was an expressive prefix, and that many Basque words starting with ma- contain this prefix, with the original word having been lost.

• R. L. Trask (2008) “ma-”, in Max W. Wheeler, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Basque, University of Sussex, page 278

ma-

1. Used to form adjectives indicating a quality

   ‎ma- + ‎linig (“to clean”) → ‎malinig (“clean”)

2. Object IV trigger infinitive verb prefix

   ‎ma- + ‎dumog (“wet”) → ‎madumog (“to become wet”)

3. Object trigger to have done something; to be able to do something

   ‎ma- + ‎tapos (“finish”) → ‎matapos (“to be able to finish something”)

   Natapos kong basahon an libro kasubanggi. ― I was able to finish reading the book last night.

4. Object trigger to perform the action of the verb unintentionally

   ‎ma- + ‎pasa (“broken, break”) → ‎mapasa (“to break something unintentionally”)

   Napasa ko an salming. ― I unintentionally broke the mirror. Compare it when used with the suffix -on:

   pasa (“broken, break”) + -on → pasaon (“to break something on purpose”)

   Pinasa ko an salming. ― I broke the mirror on purpose.

5. to form the future tense of the verb.

ma-

1. Used to form adjectives indicating a quality
2. Used to form the future tense of a verb

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

2. marks irrealis mood, particularly in command forms. it is typically preceded by a subject marker

   ‎ma- + ‎paura (“work”) → ‎amapaura (“i should work (a- 1sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work)”)

   ‎ma- + ‎paura (“work”) → ‎omapaura (“you work (command) (o- 2sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work)”)

   ‎ma- + ‎paura (“work”) → ‎emapaura (“he/she should work (e- 3sg subject + -ma- irrealis + paura work)”)

• Oa, Morea and Ma`oni Paul. (2014-02-24). Tentative Grammar Description for the Gabadi Language. [working paper, draft created november 2013; editor: Eileen Gasaway]. Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea: SIL International. Available online: [1]. For the prefix ma-, see page 39, section "9 residue" and page 36, section "7.2 commands (imperative sentences)".

Cognate to the set of prefixes found in Arabic: مُ (mu) for agentive participles, مَ (ma) for locatives, and مِ (mi) for instrumentals.

• IPA^(key): /má-/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [mə́-]

ma-

1. Used to form agentive nouns.
2. Used to form nouns of place (locative nouns).
3. Used to form instrumental nouns.

Each prefix forms a different template to which the noun must conform:

• Agentive nouns end in -ī in the masculine singular, -ìyā in the feminine singular, and -ā in the plural, and the root has low tone in the masculine and plural, but high tone in the feminine.
• Locative nouns end in -ā and are feminine, or uncommonly in -ī and are masculine, with all high tone in either case. There is rarely a plural form.
• Instrumental nouns end in -ī and are masculine, with plurals in -ai. The tones of the singular form are all high, and in the plural the tones are all low except for the plural morpheme.

• mā-

From Proto-Polynesian *ma- (“stativising prefix”). Compare Maori ma-, Fijian ma-.

ma-

1. prefix indicating quality or state

   ‎ma- + ‎kala (“loosen”, transitive verb) → ‎makala (“loosen”, stative verb)

• Hawaiian terms prefixed with ma-

  mahana

  mahele

  makai

  makala

  malama

  maluhi

  manene

  mauka

From ma.

ma-

1. prefixed form of the locative preposition ma

   ‎ma- + ‎kai (“sea”) → ‎makai (“seaward”)

   ‎ma- + ‎hope (“after”) → ‎mahope (“afterwards, later”)

• ma- in Combined Hawaiian Dictionary, at trussel2.com.

ma-

1. Rōmaji transcription of ま

ma-

1. first person plural exclusive nominative proclitic

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. class 6 prefix

From Proto-Polynesian *ma- (“stativising prefix”). Compare Hawaiian ma-, Fijian ma-.

ma-

1. fossilised prefix found on some adjectives

No longer productive in contemporary Maori.

• Maori terms prefixed with ma-

  mahana

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

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

ma-

1. active verb

• a-
• (m)aN-
• -um-

ma-

1. away (prefixed to verbs)

• The hyphen is normally kept, for example, ma-pitjanyi.
• Although ma- is spelt with a short a, the vowel is actually long (maa-). The misleading spelling exists for historical reasons.

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

• me- (before i and e)

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

ma-

1. ma class_(VI) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting mass nouns and plurals of a variety of classes

   maji machafu ― dirty water

   1. forms plurals of ji class_(V) nouns

      ‎jicho (“eye”) → ‎macho (“eyes”)

      ‎jambo (“thing”) → ‎mambo (“things”)

      ‎chungwa (“orange”) → ‎machungwa (“oranges”)

      ‎jitu (“giant”) → ‎majitu (“giants”)

   2. forms plurals of some u class_(XI) nouns

      ‎ugomvi (“quarrel”) → ‎magomvi (“quarrels”)

   3. forms collectives of n class_(IX) nouns

      ‎ma- + ‎rafiki (“friend”) → ‎marafiki (“group of friends”)

• Appendix:Swahili noun classes

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ma-, from Proto-Austronesian *ma- (stative prefix). Compare may (existential marker).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ma/ [mɐ]
• Syllabification: ma-

ma- (Baybayin spelling ᜋ)

1. used to form adjectives indicating a quality

   ‎ma- + ‎linis (“cleanliness”) → ‎malinis (“clean”)

2. (actor III trigger prefix): infinitive form

   ‎ma- + ‎ligo (“bath”) → ‎maligo (“to take a bath; to bathe”)

3. (object IV trigger prefix): infinitive form

   ‎ma- + ‎basa (“wet”) → ‎mabasa (“to become wet”)

   1. to have done something; to be able to do something

      ‎ma- + ‎tapos (“finish”) → ‎matapos (“to be able to finish something”)

      Natapos kong basahin ang libro kagabi. ― I was able to finish reading the book last night.

   2. to perform the action of the verb unintentionally

      Coordinate term: -in

      ‎ma- + ‎basag (“break, crack”) → ‎mabasag (“to break something unintentionally”)

      Nabasag ko ang salamin. ― I broke the mirror (unintentionally)

• Using ma- implies that the action performed is unintentional, while -in is used when the action was done on purpose:

  basag (“break, crack”) + -in → basagin (“to break something on purpose”)

  Binasag ko ang salamin. ― I broke the mirror (on purpose)

From Proto-Austronesian *ma- (future prefix).

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈma/ [ˈmaː]
• Syllabification: ma-

má- (Baybayin spelling ᜋ) (dialectal)

1. used to form contemplative aspects of verbs prefixed with um- or infixed with -um-

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*ma-”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

• am

• (Sinūgan Parianun) IPA^(key): /ma/ [ma]
• Syllabification: ma-

ma- (Sulat Sūg spelling مَ)

1. Used to form adjectives and adverbs; characterized by; abundant in

ma- (Jawi م-)

1. (non-human) third-person singular and plural possessive prefix, its, their
2. indicates definiteness

   haka ngori maobo ― give me the bone (literally, “give me its bone”)

   mangofa hotu ― the child sleeps (literally, “its child sleeps”)

ma- (Jawi م-)

1. marks certain verbal aspects
   1. indicates prolonged duration
   2. indicates repeated action

      ‎ma- + ‎kokehe (“to cough”) → ‎makokehe (“to cough repeatedly”)

   3. indicates habitual action
   4. indicates an action undertaken by multiple subjects

ma- (Jawi م-)

1. reflexive

   ‎ma- + ‎doto (“to teach”) → ‎madoto (“to learn”)

   ‎ma- + ‎hodo (“to pour”) → ‎mahodo (“to bathe”)

   ‎ma- + ‎ngadi (“to clothe (another)”) → ‎mangadi (“to put on clothes, to don”)

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

1. a prefix of unclear meaning

   ‎ma- + ‎gei (“to be dead”) → ‎magei (“to die”)

   ‎ma- + ‎dadi (“to become”) → ‎madadi (“to be, exist”)

The prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

• me-, mi-, mo-

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

1. first-person plural inclusive clitic, we

   moco ― we see

The prefix ma- follows West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

• me-, mi-, mo-

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

1. (animate) third-person singular clitic for stative verbs, it

   madadi sangaji ― he became a chief

   di oma ma makaku i ― their child is still small

This clitic is only for stative verbs and does not undergo vowel harmony.

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

1. (animate) third-person singular possessive prefix, his, hers, that person's, that being's

The possessive prefix ma- is subject to West Makian vowel harmony, and as such may surface as me-, mi-, or mo-.

• me-, mi-, mo-

• IPA^(key): /ma/

ma-

1. forms adverbial numerals

   ‎ma- + ‎minye (“one”) → ‎maminye (“once”)

   ‎ma- + ‎unge (“three”) → ‎maunge (“thrice”)

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[2], Pacific linguistics

From a clipping of makhe (“hortative marker”).

ma-

1. let, may; gives a verb a hortative force.

   Masihambe!

   Let's go!

The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mà-

ma-

1. Class 6 noun prefix.

From Proto-Bantu *mà-.

ma-

1. Class 6 simple noun prefix.

From a clipping of make (“hortative marker”).

ma-

1. let, may; gives a verb a hortative force.

   Masihambe!

   Let's go!

The prefix is attached to the subjunctive form of the verb, before the subject concord.

• a-

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “ma-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “ma-”