FromMiddle English ah aa a ( “ ah ” ) , of imitative origin, or fromOld English ēa *eah ( “ oh, alas ” ) , fromProto-West Germanic *a *ah ( “ ah ” ) . Earliest recorded use is circa 1175 in theOrmulum 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 fromOld French a ( “ ah!, oh!, hey! ” ) (represented by modernFrench ah [ 1] [ 2]
Compare alsoWest Frisian a ah ( “ ah ” ) ,Dutch a ah ( “ ah ” ) ,Middle Low German a ( “ ah ” ) ,Old High German a aa ah ( “ ah, oh ” ) (whence modernGerman ah Faroese áh ( “ oh, ah, alas ” ) ,Icelandic æ ai ( “ ah, oh ” ) ,Latin ah ( “ ah ” ) .
ah
Anexpression ofrelief ,relaxation ,comfort ,confusion ,understanding ,wonder ,awe , etc. according touttered inflection. Ah , I understand now.
Ah ! It's good to be back home!
Ah , the flowers of spring.
Asyllable used to fill space, particularly in music. 2008 Boy don't try to front, uh, Iah, ah .
an expression
Arabic:آه (ar) ( ʔāh ) Egyptian Arabic:آه ( āh ) ,أها ( ʔahā ) Chinese:Mandarin:哦 (zh) ( ò ) Danish:ah Dutch:ah (nl) Esperanto:ha (eo) ,ah (eo) Estonian:aa (et) ,ah (et) ,ee (et) ,oi (et) ,oo Finnish:aa (fi) French:ah (fr) Greek:α (el) ( a ) Hungarian:ah (hu) Ido:ah (io) Irish:á Japanese:ああ (ja) ( ā ) ,あ (ja) ( a ) ,嗚呼 (ja) ( ああ, ā ) Korean:아 (ko) ( a ) Malay:ah (ms) Norwegian:Bokmål:ah (no) Pennsylvania German:a Persian:آها (fa) ( âhâ ) Polish:ach (pl) ,a (pl) Portuguese:ah (pt) Russian:а (ru) ( a ) ,ага́ (ru) ( agá ) ,о (ru) ( o ) Slovak:ach Swedish:ah (sv) Thai:อ้อ (th) ( ɔ̂ɔ ) Vietnamese:à (vi) Welsh:a (cy)
ah (plural ahs
An instance of the interjectionah the crowd's oohs andahs at the fireworks ah (third-person singular simple present ahs present participle ahing simple past and past participle ahed
To give a cry of "ah".2005 Sinner, Sailor: A Memoir , page221 :Mother and dad oohed andahed over Cindy. She was only two months old but already was developing her personality.
ah (personal pronoun ,plural we possessive adjective mah
Pronunciation spelling ofI Scottish orAmerican (particularly Southern)accent orAfrican-American Vernacular English 1993 Trainspotting , Times Film School, page50 :Didah ever say anything derogatory against ma man Franco? Well, likesay. . . he's no a bad punter.
FromHokkien 啊 ( --a, a ) andTeochew 啊 ( a7 ) . For Tamil speakers, its use as a particle is possibly reinforced byTamil -ஆ ( -ā ,sense 1 ) .
( Singapore , Malaysia ) IPA (key ) : /ɑ(ː)/ ,[ä(ː)~ɐ(ː)] **The different senses of this word are distinguished by lexical tone. ah ( Manglish , Singlish )
( interrogative ) Marks a yes–notag question prompting the listener toclarify or confirm something. Pitch contour:low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/ ,[ä˨] Synonyms: ( Singapore ) hah is it izzit You’re dyslexicah ? ―So you’re dyslexic? 1989 Eleanor Wong ,Jackson on a Jaunt, or, Mistaken Identities , page 3, lines49–50 :So how are you Jackson? Very busy,ah ? Never come around to see me these days.
2007 P , Singapore,→ISBN →OCLC 80 :Cannot talk-ah ? God give you mouth for what? No courtesy-ah ?Kanneena 2020 April 12, Notdumb, “Liddat is safe distance ah?”, inSG Talk [1] the original on18 April 2020 :Only 2 ft apart considered safeah ?
( interrogative ) Reinforces a short,non-rhetorical wh-question . Pitch contour:rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/ How do you delete this rowah ?
2011 October 23, Rachel Chang, “LifeStyle”, inThe Sunday Times 15 :See howlor . Who’s goingar ? Emphasizes the need for absoluteconfirmation ,permission oracknowledgment . Pitch contour:rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/ Synonym: ( more assertive, non-interrogative ) hor ( sense 1 ) Don’t drink and driveah ... Aparticle indicating thetopic of a sentence from its comment. Pitch contour:rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/ The drilling upstairsah , non-stopleh . 2014 Singapore Noir , Akashic Books,→ISBN 89 :These fish,ah , anything also eatone Aconfirmative final particle used in the middle of a sentence toascertain the continued attention of the listener. Pitch contour:rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/ Near-synonym: right 2021 Lovelier, Lonelier ,Epigram Books ,→ISBN You know,arh , Isaac—I’ve liked you from the very start, he said. I consider myself very lucky to be your manager.
Tagged at the end of non-interrogative sentence to convey a sense ofinformality orresignation . Pitch contour:mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/ I got tell themah , guys. ―I did tell them. Fail alreadyah . ―Looks like we’ve failed. (often sarcastic ) Reinforces a short,sarcastic suggestion. Pitch contour:low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/ ,mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/ JustAWOL ah . Avocative particle , now mostly used by Chinese elders for direct address (overtelephone calls , or if the addressee is far away). Pitch contour:low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/ Hello? Joeyah ? ―Hello?Is this Joey? 1983 Emily of Emerald Hill →ISBN Susieah , Emily here ah. This afternoon I'm going to town, anything that you're needing?
Used as anintensifier in fixed expressions, sometimesexhortative in meaning. Pitch contour:mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/ ,low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/ Hengah ...Phew! ah ( Manglish , Singlish )
Usedcondescendingly , somewhat like “see ?” or “I told you so ”. Pitch contour:mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/ ,falling /ɑ(ː)˦˨/ , sometimes nasalized Discourse particles in colloquial Singaporean and Malaysian English ⟵ More assertive Less assertive ⟶ Objection what Assertive emphasis lah 1–14 Self-evident answerlor 2–3 Resignation lor 1 ,ah 6–7 Uncertainty leh 1–2 Self-evident reasonmah Declarative emphasis leh 3–6 one 1–3 hor 1 ,know nia only Discontent; shock; coarseness sia Agreement-seeking hor 2 Confirmation-seeking ah 1–3 hah 1–3 Skepticism meh Confident speculation ba 2 Tentative judgment leh 7–11 ba 1 Non-pragmatic Aspectual liao already References Gupta, A. F. (1992 ), “The pragmatic particles of Singapore colloquial English”, inJournal of Pragmatics , volume18 , number 1,→DOI
( question tags in Singlish ) :is it ya Imitative of a persongagging .
ah
Yuck .“ah”, inThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language Houghton Mifflin ,2000 ,→ISBN “ah ”, inDictionary.com Unabridged ,Dictionary.com, LLC , 1995–present. Lim, L. (2004 ),Singapore English: A grammatical description [2] →ISBN 121 (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
áh
this ,these (masculine)Declension ofáh absolutive áh predicative áha subjective áh genitive ahtí
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
E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985 ), “ah”, inAn 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] FromProto-Albanian *akʰu- Proto-Indo-European *h₂ó/ásku- ( “ workable wood ” ) , which came to mean "red beech" in Balkan IE, fromProto-Indo-European *Heh₃s- ( “ ash ” ) (compareGreek οξιά ( oxiá ,“ beech ” ) ,Armenian հածի ( haci ) ,English ash [ 1]
ah m plural ahe definite ahu definite plural ahet
beech (Fagus sylvatica ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl et al. (2021 ), “ah ”, inDPEWA. Digitales Philologisch-Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altalbanischen [DPEWA. Digital Philological-Etymological Dictionary of Old Albanian FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language [4] 1980 “ah ”, inFGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language 2006 Newmark,L. (1999 ), “ ah ”, inOxford Albanian-English Dictionary Imitative , similar toFrench ah
IPA (key ) : /ˈa/ Syllabification:ah Rhymes:-a ah
ah ( expression of relief, realization, awe ) ah ( expression of woe, grief ) Imitative , similar toFrench ah
IPA (key ) : ( Central , Balearic , Valencia ) [ˈa]
ah
ah ( expression of relief, realization, awe ) ah ( expression of woe, grief ) (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
yes Synonym: hohmi Partly borrowed fromGerman English French Latin ah ( “ ah ” ) , fromProto-Indo-European *ā onomatopoeic .
Cognate withNorwegian Bokmål ah English ah German ah French ah Latin ah
ah
used to expresspleasure , e.g. because something tastesgood or feelsnice Coordinate terms: mm mums namnam ah , sikken en dejlig pandekageah what a delicious pancakeSynonym: uhm used to expresspleasant surprise "ah, velkommen Albert," sagde Sickert til prinsen"ah , welcome Albert," said Sickert to the princeSynonym: minsandten used to expressreservations , slightdisagreement ,doubt etc.bliver man også nervøs?Ah ikke så meget do you get nervous too?Ah , not so much Synonym: arh Anonomatopoeia , first recorded in 1285.
ah
ah ( expressing understanding or surprise ) (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
ah ,oh Found in a wide variety of languages, including but not limited toEstonian ah Ingrian ah Karelian ah Ludian ah Veps ah Votic ah Hungarian ah Swedish ah German ah English ah Latin ah
ah
oh ,ah Inherited fromOld French a! ( “ oh! ah! woe! ” ) , of expressive origin.
ah
ah (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
ah ( expression ofunderstanding , etc. ) Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández , editor (2006–2013 ), “ah ”, inDicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language Instituto da Lingua Galega Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández ,Ernesto Xosé González Seoane ,María Álvarez de la Granja , editors (2003–2018 ), “ah ”, inTesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega Rosario Álvarez Blanco , editor (2014–2024 ), “ah ”, inTesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela:Instituto da Lingua Galega ,→ISSN FromMiddle High German ā Old High German a ah Proto-West Germanic *a *ah Middle Low German a Middle English a aa ah English ah
ah
expressingunderstanding expressingcontentment “ah ” inDuden online “ah ” inDigitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache For pronunciation and definitions of ah – see鴨 duck ”). This term is thepe̍h-ōe-jī form of 鴨
Involuntary expression of emotions: surprise, impatience, desire, sadness, refusal.[ 1]
ah
ah ah in Géza Bárczi ,László Országh ,et al. , editors,A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language Fifth ed., 1992:→ISBN . ah in Nóra Ittzés, editor,A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language (work in progress; publisheda–ez as of 2024) .Unknown
ah
oh ,expresses compassion, surprise and dismay Ultimately a natural sound. CompareFinnish ah Estonian ah
ah
Exclamation ofwonder :oh !Ah kui siä oot käppiä!Oh how beautiful you are!Ruben E. Nirvi (1971 ),Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja , Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 3 (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
( sarcastic ) ah Synonym: ha ah (upper case Ah
Aletter of the Juǀ'hoanalphabet , written in theLatin script . Inherited fromProto-Indo-European *ā *h₂eh₂ [ 1]
āh
ah ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2011 ),Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An Introduction , 2nd edition, revised and corrected byMichiel de Vaan , Amsterdam, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, page250 “ah Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879 ),A Latin Dictionary “ah Charlton T. Lewis (1891 ),An Elementary Latin Dictionary , New York: Harper & Brothers IPA (key ) : /ˈah/ [ˈah] Rhymes:-ah Hyphenation:ah ah (Jawi spelling اه
( informal ) Particle to expressastonishment ,disapproval ,dismay ,complaint ,disagreement . Ah , itukah yg kaumaksudkan!Oh , is that what you mean!Ah , seganlah aku!Oh , I'm ashamed!Ah , mengapa budak-budak itu tidak dapat berfikir!Oh , why can't those boys think!> Indonesian:ah ( inherited ) ah
(one's)thing 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.
Possessive forms ofah (loose inalienable possession, -ah stem) singular first person oai second person oamw third person ah dual first person inclusive asa first person exclusive ama second person amwa third person ara plural first person inclusive asai first person exclusive amai second person amwai third person arai remote plural first person inclusive ahs first person exclusive imi second person imwi third person ahr construct form in
ah
( Anglian ) alternative form ofac ( “ but ” ) āh
first / third-person singular present indicative ofāgan (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah n or f
( neuter ) wood ( feminine ) tree Languages of the Amazon (2012,→ISBN Pennsylvania German [ edit ] a ( used by The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary ) FromGerman ah
ah
ah ! (can be used for either warning or astonishment)2004 The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary , volume 1, 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543-9516: Masthof Press,→ISBN 1970 Kleines Pennsylvaniadeutsches Wörterbuch/Abridged Pennsylvania German Dictionary , Heimatstelle Pfalz:Kaiserslautern; republished as C. Richard Beam, Joshua R. Brown, editors,The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary , volume 1, 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543-9516: Masthof Press,2004 ,→ISBN ah
The name of theLatin-script letterA a ah
shark mullet (Rhinomugil nasutus ah
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. ah
his ,her ,hers ,its , third person singular possessive pronounLiho iangah pwoud. The woman joined her husband. ah
Oh !; commonly used as an expression ofapproval .Ah , ke inenen mai.Oh , you are really good.Onomatopoeic .
ah
ah ( expression of relief, realization, awe ) ah ( expression of woe, grief ) For quotations using this term, seeCitations:ah .
Onomatopoeic .
ah
ah ah
( Cromarty ) who Am Baile (2009 ),The Cromarty Fisherfolk Dialect [7] FromProto-Somaloid *ax *ʔex ("to be").[ 1] Maay aha Afar ekke ( “ to be, become ” ) .
ah
( intransitive ) be Bariis oo macaanah . ―Rice that is sweet. ^ Ehret, C. (1991).The consonant inventory of Proto-Eastern Cushitic . University of California, Los Angeles,page 262 Imitative , similar toFrench ah
ah
ah ( expression of relief, realization, awe ) ah ( expression of woe, grief ) ah
romanization of𒄴 ( aḫ ) (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
ah Ah , jag förstårAh , I understandAh , det är skönt att få glida ner i jacuzzin och knäcka en kall öl efter ett hårt arbetspass i skogenAh , 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 forestGreven såg ut över sina ägor och tänkte "Ah , underbart!" The count looked out over his lands ["ownings"] and thought, "Ah , wonderful!" (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
coral lime (forchewing /eating withbetelnut )Bohuai Malcolm Ross,Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia ,Pacific Linguistics , series C-98 (1988) (Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium .)
ah
oh :expressing of surprise oh :expressing wonder, amazement, or awe oh :expressing understanding, recognition, or realization oh :preceding an offhand or annoyed remark oh :an invocation or address From earlier*ak Proto-Kuki-Chin *ʔaar ( “ chicken ” ) . Cognates includeKhumi Chin ae Mizo ár
ah
fowl ( specifically ) chicken (Gallus gallus Lukram Himmat Singh (2013 ),A Descriptive Grammar of Zou , Canchipur: Manipur University, page49 
