swa

Etymology

Borrowed from Papiamentu swa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sʋaː/
• Rhymes: -aː

Noun

swa m (plural swa's, diminutive swaatje n)

1. (slang) mate, bud, friend

   Ey swa, alles goed? — Oi mate, how you doing?

   Synonyms: gabber, maat, makker, mattie, vriend

Anagrams

• was

Romanization

swa

1. Romanization of 𐍃𐍅𐌰

Etymology

From French soir (“evening”)

Noun

swa

1. evening

Alternative forms

• sƿa

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *swa, *swē (“so”), from Proto-Indo-European *swē, *swō and Proto-Indo-European *se. Cognate with Old Frisian sa (West Frisian sa), Old Saxon sō (Low German so), Old Dutch sō (Dutch zo), Old High German sō (German so), Old Norse svá (Icelandic svo, Danish and Swedish så, Norwegian so, så), Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌰 (swa), Latin si (from an earlier form suad), Oscan 𐌔𐌅𐌀𐌝 (svaí), Umbrian sve, Ancient Greek ὡς (hōs) (earlier ϝος (wos)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /swɑː/

Pronoun

swā

1. that, of that

   æt menn fīftīene penningas and æt horse healf sƿā.

   15 pennies for a man, and half that for a horse.

Adverb

swā

1. so, thus, in this way, in that way

   Ƿeorp þone beall sƿā.

   Throw the ball like this.

   Hū meaht þū sƿā libban?

   How can you live that way?

   Nis hit nā sƿā.

   It is not so.

2. to the extent stated; to a great extent, so, very

   Man mihte sƿā ƿīde ġesēon.

   You could see so far.

   Þes hamer nis sƿā gōd.

   This hammer isn't that good.

3. doubled (with an interrogative pronoun) to mean 'whatever', 'whoever', etc

   sƿā hƿæt sƿā — whatever

   sƿā hƿā sƿā — whoever

   sƿā hƿǣr sƿā — wherever

   sƿā hƿider sƿā — to wherever

   sƿā hƿanan sƿā — from wherever

   sƿā hƿilċ sƿā – whichever, whatever kind of

   sƿā hƿǣnne sƿā — whenever

4. doubled as a correlative: the...the...

   Sƿā norðor sƿā smælre.

   The further north, the narrower the land.

   • the Old English Distichs of Cato

     Sƿā man māre spricþ, sƿā him lǣs manna ġelīefþ.

     The more you say, the less people believe you.

5. doubled as a comparative: as...as...

   Sƿā hƿīt sƿā snāƿ.

   As white as snow.

6. used once as a comparative
   • c. 900, the Old English Boethius

     Ƿēnaþ þā dysiġan þæt ǣlċ mann sīe blind sƿā hīe sind, and þæt nān mann ne mæġe ġesēon þæt hīe gesēon ne magon.

     Fools think everyone is as blind as they are, and that no one can see what they cannot.

Conjunction

swā

1. so, with the result that
2. on condition that

Etymology

From Dutch zwager (“brother-in-law”).

Noun

swa

1. friend, pal, comrade
2. brother-in-law

Noun

swa

1. acid