was

See also: Appendix:Variations of "was"

Languages (31)

Translingual • English

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Afrikaans • Banda • Cebuano • Dutch • German • Gothic • Gros Ventre • Hunsrik • Javanese • Low German • Lower Sorbian • Mayangna • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle Low German • Old English • Old High German • Old Javanese • Pennsylvania German • Polish • Proto-Norse • Scots • Seychellois Creole • Somali • Spanish • Tagalog • Tok Pisin • Welsh • Yola

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

was

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Washo.

English

Alternative forms

• wus
• wuz

Etymology

From Middle English was, from Old English wæs, from Proto-Germanic *was, (compare Scots was, West Frisian was (dated, wie is generally preferred today), Dutch was, Low German was, German war, Swedish var), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂we-h₂wós-e (compare Kamkata-viri vos-, Sanskrit उवास (uvā́sa)), from *h₂wes- (“to reside”), whence also vestal. The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to become”). The forms is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wes- (“to reside”).

Pronunciation

(stressed)

• (UK, New Zealand) enPR: wŏz, wŭz, IPA^(key): /wɒz/, /wʌz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: wŭz, wŏz, IPA^(key): /wʌz/, /wɑz/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• (General Australian) enPR: wŏz, IPA^(key): /wɔz/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): /wʌz/, [wəz]
  • (dialectal) IPA^(key): /wɒz/, [wɔ(ː)z]
• (Early Modern) IPA^(key): /wæz/, /wæs/
• Rhymes: -ɒz, -ʌz

(unstressed)

• (UK, US) enPR: wəz, IPA^(key): /wəz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US); “I was there”:

  (file)

Verb

was

1. first-person singular simple past indicative of be.

   I was castigated and scorned.

2. third-person singular simple past indicative of be.

   It was a really humongous slice of cake.

   • 1915, John Millington Synge, The Playboy of the Western World, section I:

     I killed my poor father, Tuesday was a week, for doing the like of that.

   • 1996 August 1, George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire; 1), HarperCollins, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 16:

     He saw it clear enough, now that the lordling had pointed it out. “They couldn't have froze. Not if the Wall was weeping. It wasn't cold enough."

3. (now colloquial) Used in phrases with existential there when the semantic subject is (usually third-person) plural.

   There was three of them there.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Gen 40:17:

     And in the vppermoſt baſket there was of all maner of †bake-meats foꝛ Pharaoh,and the birds did eat them out of the baſket vpon my head.

4. (now colloquial or nonstandard, African-American Vernacular) second-person singular simple past indicative of be; were.
   • 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XXXIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson;  […], →OCLC:

     You was pleased to cast a favourable eye upon me.

   • 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     "Was you outside the Bank of England, sir?"

5. (colloquial, nonstandard) first-person plural simple past indicative of be; were.
   • 2001, Darrel Rachel, The Magnolias Still Bloom, page 104:

     “What happened here, Hadley?” the chief asked. “We was robbed, damn it, we was robbed.”

6. (colloquial, nonstandard, African-American Vernacular) third-person plural simple past indicative of be; were.
   • 1968, Etta James, Ellington Jordan, Billy Foster (lyrics and music), “I'd Rather Go Blind”, performed by Etta James:

     When the reflection in the glass that I held to my lips now baby / Revealed the tears that was on my face, yeah

   • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 24:

     Take or be taken. Get yours or get got. It was the code of the streets and I'd lived by it. The way things was looking, I was prolly gone die by it too.

Derived terms

• wasband
• wasbian

See also

• am
• are
• is
• art
• be
• being
• been
• beest
• wast
• were
• wert
• woz
• wuz

Further reading

• If I Was or If I Were: Easy Guide on Appropriate Use, grammar.yourdictionary.com
• When to use "If I was" vs. "If I were"?, english.stackexchange.com
• if I were you, if I was you at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

Anagrams

• ASW, AWS, SAW, Saw, aws, saw

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

was (uncountable)

1. wax

Verb

was

1. past of wees

Verb

was (present was, present participle wassende, past participle gewas)

1. to wash

Banda

Noun

was

1. water

References

• "Elat, Kei Besar" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Cebuano

Etymology

Slang variant of wala

Pronoun

was

1. (slang, informal) nothing; none

Adjective

was

1. (informal) absent

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋɑs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑs

Etymology 1

Cognate with English wash.

Noun

was m (plural wassen, diminutive wasje n)

1. laundry, clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed

Derived terms

• de vuile was buiten hangen
• een kind kan de was doen
• wasbeurt
• wasmachine
• wasmand
• wasverzachter

 

Descendants

• Negerhollands: wasch, was

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *was, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą. Cognate with German Wachs, English wax, Danish voks, Swedish vax.

Noun

was m or n (plural wassen)

1. wax
2. growth

Derived terms

• bijenwas
• gewas
• uit de kluiten gewassen
• uitwas

 

Etymology 3

Cognate with English was.

Verb

was

1. singular past indicative of zijn
2. singular past indicative of wezen

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

was

1. inflection of wassen:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
   3. imperative

Anagrams

• swa

German

Alternative forms

• wat (colloquial in western and parts of northern Germany)

Etymology

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod. Cognate with Bavarian was, wås, Silesian East Central German woas (was), Dutch wat, English what, Danish hvad. Doublet of wat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vas/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Bavaria):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as

Pronoun

was

1. (interrogative) what

   Was machst du heute?

   What are you doing today?

2. (relative) which (referring to the entire preceding clause)

   Sie tanzte gut, was er bewunderte.

   She was a good dancer, which he admired.

3. (relative) that, which (referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)

   Das ist alles, was ich weiß.

   That's all that I know.

   Das ist das Beste, was mir passieren konnte.

   That's the best that could have happened to me.

4. (relative, colloquial) that, which (referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)

   Siehst du das weiße Haus, was renoviert wird?

   Do you see that white house, which is being renovated?

5. (indefinite, colloquial) something, anything (instead of standard etwas)

   Ich hab was gefunden.

   I've found something.

   • 2017, Simone Meier, Fleisch, Kein & Aber, published 2018, page 39:

     Er wollte Anna was antun.

     He wanted to do something to Anna.

6. (interrogative, dated) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval)

   Was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?

   Why on earth are you hiding your face so fearfully?

Usage notes

• Was is colloquially used with prepositions, chiefly but not exclusively in southern regions. Otherwise it is generally replaced with a pronominal adverb containing wo- (or in a few cases wes-). Hence: Womit hast du das gemacht? (“With what did you do that?”), instead of Mit was hast du das gemacht?, and weswegen instead of wegen was.
• The genitive case, and the dative case if necessary for clearness, can be paraphrased by means of welcher Sache (“what thing”). Possessive genitives are more commonly paraphrased with wovon (“of what”). It is also possible to use the genitive form wessen, but it wouldn't be used in questions such as Wessen ist das? because here it would be understood as the genitive form of wer.
• The colloquial was meaning "something" can only be the first word in a sentence if followed by an adjective: Was Wichtiges fehlt noch. (“Something important is missing.”) Otherwise the full form etwas must be used: Etwas fehlt noch. (“Something is missing.”) The reason for this is that the latter sentence could be misinterpreted as a question if was were used.

Declension

Declension of was
nominative	was
genitive	wessen or (dated) wes
dative	—
accusative	was

Derived terms

• komme, was wolle
• was ist dir; was ist Dir
• was kostet es
• was zum Geier; was zum Kuckuck

• tun, was man nicht lassen kann
• was auch immer
• was der Bauer nicht kennt, das frisst er nicht
• was geht
• was gibt's Neues
• was du nicht sagst; was ihr nicht sagt; was Sie nicht sagen

Determiner

was

1. (archaic) what; what kind of

   Synonym: was für

   • 1718, Johann Caspar Schwartz, Johann Caspar Schwartzens Fünfftes Dutzend Wund-artzneyischer Anmerckungen von vielerley Arten der Geschwülste und Geschwüre, Hamburg, page 97:

     [...] denen Thieren und Gewächsen aber, von was Arten und Geschlechten selbige auch nur immer seyn mögen, [...]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1742, Johann Christoph Gottsched, Versuch einer Critischen Dichtkunst, Leipzig, page 442:

     Held August, du kühner Krieger! / Du bist der beglückte Sieger, / Vor, und in, und nach dem Fall. / Auf was Arten, auf was Weisen, / Soll man deine Thaten preisen / Hier und da, und überall?

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 1786, Johann Michael Schosulan, Gründlicher Unterricht für das Landvolk: Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen etrunkenen, erhängten, erstickten, erfrornen, von Hitze verschmachteten und von Blitz berührten unglücklichen Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten, der Retter aber für sein eigenes Leben sich selbst sicher stellen solle., Wien, title:

     Wie und auf was Weise jedermann seinen [...] Nebenmenschen Hülfe leisten [...] solle.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Usage notes

• In the dative and genitive feminine, the inflected form waser occurred.

Adverb

was

1. (colloquial) Clipping of etwas.

   Ich komm was später.

   I'll arrive a little later.

2. (interrogative, colloquial) why, what for

   Synonyms: warum, wieso, weshalb

   Was bist du heute so stumm?

   Why are you so silent today?

Gothic

Romanization

was

1. Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐍃

Gros Ventre

Noun

was

1. bear

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vas/

Pronoun

was

1. (interrogative) what

   Was machst-du?

   What are you doing?

2. (relative) what

   Was-ich net esse, essd de Hund.

   What I don't eat, the dog eats.

3. (indefinite) something, anything

   Noch was?

   Anything else?

See also

• etwas

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Javanese

Romanization

was

1. Romanization of ꦮꦱ꧀

Low German

Verb

was

1. first-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
2. third-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
3. apocopated form of wasse (“wash”), second-person singular imperative of wassen (mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialects' wasche/waske)
4. apocopated form of wasse (“wax”), second-person singular imperative of wassen
5. apocopated form of wasse (“grow”), second-person singular imperative of wassen

Usage notes

Notes on the verb węsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the old subjunctive wer is used in place of was by many speakers. This might be the old subjunctive which is now used as a preterite or a reduction of weren, which is the preterite plural indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognate war. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower Saxony that use wer for was, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way"-nature of the situation no form can be named "standard" for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [was]

Pronoun

was

1. genitive of wy
2. accusative of wy
3. locative of wy

Mayangna

Noun

was

1. water
2. stream, river

References

• Smith, Ethnogeography of the Mayangna of Nicaragua, in Ethno- and historical geographic studies in Latin America: essays honoring William V. Davidson (2008), page 88: The location of 46 settlements from this list containing the term ”was" —meaning "water" or "stream" — were obtained[.]

Middle Dutch

Verb

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of wēsen

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English wæs (first/third person singular indicative past of wesan), from Proto-Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesaną).

Verb

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of been
   • c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2)‎^[2], Ouchtirmunſye: Iohannes Ramſay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 431-434; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:

     Thyꝛwall þ[at] was þ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly

     Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.

2. (dialectal) second-person singular past indicative of been
3. (dialectal) plural past indicative of been

Descendants

• English: was
• Scots: was, wis
• Yola: waas, was, waz, 'as, as (after Ich)

Etymology 2

Pronoun

was

1. Alternative form of whos (“whose”, genitive)

Middle Low German

Alternative forms

• wass

Verb

was

1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of wēsen

Old English

Alternative forms

• wes — Mercian
• wæs

Verb

was (Northumbrian)

1. first/third-person singular preterite of bēon
2. first/third-person singular preterite of wesan

Old High German

Alternative forms

• uuas, ƿas — Manuscript spelling

Verb

was

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of wesan

Old Javanese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /was/
• Rhymes: -was
• Homophone: wās
• Hyphenation: was

Etymology 1

Root

was

1. Alternative spelling of wās (“clear”)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

was

1. name of a day in the six-day week

Etymology 3

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

Particle

was

1. emphatic or descriptive particle

Further reading

• "was" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Middle High German waz, from Old High German waz, hwaz, from Proto-West Germanic *hwat.

Compare German was, Dutch wat, English what.

Pronoun

was

1. (interrogative) what

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvas/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: was

Pronoun

was

1. genitive/accusative/locative of wy

Proto-Norse

Romanization

was

1. Romanization of ᚹᚨᛊ

Scots

Noun

was

1. plural of wa

Seychellois Creole

Etymology

From French ouest.

Noun

was

1. west

References

• Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet, Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français

Somali

Verb

was

1. fuck

Descendants

• → English: wass

Spanish

Etymology

From WhatsApp.

Noun

was m (plural was)

1. a message sent or received over WhatsApp

Related terms

• wasapear

 

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• waz
• wis, wiz
• wit, wititit

Etymology

Clipping wala +‎ s.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈwas/ [ˈwas]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: was

Pronoun

was (Baybayin spelling ᜏᜐ᜔) (gay slang)

1. nothing; none

   Synonyms: wala, (gay slang) waley

Further reading

• Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993) Tagalog Slang Dictionary, Manila: De La Salle University Press, →ISBN, page 155

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English watch.

Verb

was

1. angel; any supernatural creature in heaven according to Christian theology
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:24:

     God i rausim pinis man na meri, na em i makim ol strongpela ensel bilong sanap na was i stap long hap sankamap bilong gaden Iden. Na tu em i putim wanpela bainat i gat paia i lait long en na i save tanim tanim long olgeta hap. Oltaim ol dispela ensel wantaim dispela bainat i save was i stap, nogut wanpela man i go klostu long dispela diwai bilong givim laip.

     →New International Version translation

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /waːs/

Noun

was

1. Soft mutation of gwas.

Mutation

Mutated forms of gwas

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
gwas	was	ngwas	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Yola

Verb

was

1. Alternative form of waas (“was”)
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 84:

     At by mizluck was ee-pit t'drive in.

     Who by misluck was placed to drive in.

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 84:

     Zitch blakeen, an blayeen, fan ee ball was ee-drowe!

     Such bawling and shouting, when the ball was thrown!

   • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 94:

     Aar was a weddeen ee Ballymore,

     There was a wedding in Ballymore,

2. Alternative form of waas (“were”)
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 84:

     Joud an moud vrem earchee ete was ee Lough.

     Throngs and crowds from each quarter were at the Lough;

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 5, page 86:

     Mot w'all aar boust, hi soon was ee-teight

     But with all their bravado they were soon taught

   • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 93:

     Aar was pizzeen, an beanès, an barich amang.

     There were pease and beans, and barley-mung.

   • 1867, “THE WEDDEEN O BALLYMORE”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 93:

     Aar was bidaades an heereen.

     There were potatoes and herrings;

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867