मा

Postposition

मा (mā)

1. in, at, on

   स्कूल मा मि किताब पढ़दु।

   skūl mā mi kitāb paṛhdu.

   I read a book at school.

Postposition

मा • (mā)

1. in, at, on

Noun

मा (mā)

1. plant

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-Aryan *maH, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *maH, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁ (prohibitive particle). Cognate with Albanian mo (“don't”), Ancient Greek μή (mḗ, “not, don't”), Old Armenian մի (mi, “no, not”), Avestan 𐬁𐬨‎ (mā), Persian مـ‎.

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /mɑ́ː/
• (Classical) IPA^(key): /mɑː/

Particle

मा • (mā́)

1. don't (prohibitive particle)
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 1.5.10

     मा नो मर्ता अभि द्रुहन्तनूनामिन्द्र गिर्वणः । ईशानो यवया वधम् ॥

     mā no martā abhi druhantanūnāmindra girvaṇaḥ . īśāno yavayā vadham .

     O Indra, thou who lovest song, do not let any man hurt our bodies. Keep slaughter far from us for thou canst.

Descendants

• Hindi: मत (mat, “don't”)

References

• Sir Monier Monier-Williams (1898) A Sanskrit-English dictionary etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to cognate Indo-European languages, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 804/1

Pronoun

मा • (mā)

1. accusative singular of अहम् (aham)