# tonga
## English
### Etymology 1

From Hindi टाँगा (ṭāṅgā).

#### Alternative forms

* tanga

#### Noun

tonga (plural tongas)
* (India) A light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage used for transportation in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
** 1890, Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills:Coming up along the Cart-Road a tonga passed me, and my pony, tired with standing so long, set off at a canter.
** 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 13:When his tyre went flat, he leapt off and shouted for a tonga.
** 1972, Abulhasan 'Ali Nadvi, The Musalman, page 42:The Muslim ladies who earlier moved out in covered palanquins, dolis and muhafas or completely veiled coaches and victorias are now obliged to go about in tongas, rikshaws and buses leaving aside the earlier scruples.

### Etymology 2

From Tonga.

#### Noun

tonga (uncountable)
* (medicine) A drug useful in neuralgia, derived from a Fijian plant supposed to be of the aroid genus Epipremnum.

### See also

* tonga bean

### Anagrams

* Atong, on tag, tag on, tango

## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin tunica. Doublet of túnica, a learned borrowing.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈtoŋ.ɡə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈtoŋ.ɡa]

### Noun

tonga f (plural tongues)
* (historical) a form of tunic worn by Catalan Jews during the Middle Ages

#### Derived terms

* tongada

#### Related terms

* caftà

### Further reading

* “tonga” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Finnish
### Etymology

< Tonga

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtoŋːɑ/, [ˈt̪o̞ŋːɑ̝]
* Rhymes: -oŋːɑ
* Hyphenation: ton‧ga

### Noun

tonga
* Tongan (language)

#### Declension

Possessive forms of tonga (Kotus type 10/koira, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
tongani
accusative
nom.
tongani
gen.
tongani
genitive
tongani
partitive
tongaani
inessive
tongassani
elative
tongastani
illative
tongaani
adessive
tongallani
ablative
tongaltani
allative
tongalleni
essive
tonganani
translative
tongakseni
abessive
tongattani
instructive
comitative
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
tongasi
accusative
nom.
tongasi
gen.
tongasi
genitive
tongasi
partitive
tongaasi
inessive
tongassasi
elative
tongastasi
illative
tongaasi
adessive
tongallasi
ablative
tongaltasi
allative
tongallesi
essive
tonganasi
translative
tongaksesi
abessive
tongattasi
instructive
comitative
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
tongamme
accusative
nom.
tongamme
gen.
tongamme
genitive
tongamme
partitive
tongaamme
inessive
tongassamme
elative
tongastamme
illative
tongaamme
adessive
tongallamme
ablative
tongaltamme
allative
tongallemme
essive
tonganamme
translative
tongaksemme
abessive
tongattamme
instructive
comitative
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
tonganne
accusative
nom.
tonganne
gen.
tonganne
genitive
tonganne
partitive
tongaanne
inessive
tongassanne
elative
tongastanne
illative
tongaanne
adessive
tongallanne
ablative
tongaltanne
allative
tongallenne
essive
tongananne
translative
tongaksenne
abessive
tongattanne
instructive
comitative
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
tongansa
accusative
nom.
tongansa
gen.
tongansa
genitive
tongansa
partitive
tongaansa
inessive
tongassaan tongassansa
elative
tongastaan tongastansa
illative
tongaansa
adessive
tongallaan tongallansa
ablative
tongaltaan tongaltansa
allative
tongalleen tongallensa
essive
tonganaan tonganansa
translative
tongakseen tongaksensa
abessive
tongattaan tongattansa
instructive
comitative

### Anagrams

* tango, togan

## Lingala
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-tʊ́nga.

### Verb

-tonga (infinitive kotonga)
* to sew, to mend
* to build

### See also

* -tónga

## Malagasy
### Etymology 1
#### Participle

tonga
* arrived

### Etymology 2

The talisman sense comes from Etymology 1 of the word.

#### Noun

tonga
* (Mahafaly, Sakalava) a charm or talisman believed to bring one safely to their destination
* (by extension) a plant used to make this talisman, the blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis)
* (Antanosy) rosy periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)
* (Bara) Catharanthus longifolius

## Maori
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Polynesian *toŋa (“south wind”), possibly from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *təŋaq (“centre”).
No words for the cardinal directions can be unambiguously reconstructed for Proto-Polynesian, as there would be little use for them on the small Polynesian islands. However, on the much larger North Island (Te Ika-a-Māui) and South Island (Te Waipounamu) of New Zealand, the usefulness of such terminology led the Māori to adopt this word for "south".

### Noun

tonga
* south
    Synonyms: taitonga, (obsolete) hauta

#### Coordinate terms

(compass points)
| tapatapātiu | tokerau, raki | kārapu |
| uru | | rāwhiti |
| uru-mā-tonga | tonga | pitonga |

### References

* ↑ Bruce Biggs (1994) “New Words for a New World”, in A. K. Pawley, M. D. Ross, editors, Austronesian Terminologies: Continuity and Change (Pacific Linguistics Series C; 127), Australian National University, →DOI, page 26.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Noun

tonga f
* definite singular of tong

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtõ.ɡɐ/
* Hyphenation: ton‧ga

### Adjective

tonga
* feminine singular of tongo

### Noun

tonga m (uncountable)
* Tongan (Austronesian language spoken in Tonga)
    Synonym: tonganês

### Noun

tonga f (plural tongas)
* female equivalent of tongo

### Noun

tonga f (plural tongas)
* (Angola) land for farming

## Rapa Nui
### Noun

tonga
* a kind of yam

## Solon
### Etymology

From Proto-Tungusic *tuńga. Cognate with Evenki тунӈа (tunŋa), Even ту̇нӈа̇н (tu̇nŋȧn), Oroqen tʊŋŋa, Manchu ᠰᡠᠨᠵᠠ (sunja).

### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Numeral

tonga
* five

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈtonɡa/ [ˈt̪õŋ.ɡa]
* Rhymes: -onɡa
* Syllabification: ton‧ga

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin tunica. Doublet of túnica, a borrowing.

#### Noun

tonga f (plural tongas)
* coating (thin outer layer)
    Synonym: tongada
* (Argentina, Colombia) task, job
* (Canary Islands, Cuba) heap, pile

##### Derived terms

* entongar
* tongada

### Etymology 2

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

#### Noun

tonga m or f by sense (plural tongas)
* a member of the Tonga people of southern Africa

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from Tongan Tonga, from Samoan toga (“southern”).

#### Noun

tonga m or f by sense (plural tongas)
* Tongan (native or inhabitant of Tonga)

### Further reading

* “tonga”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Turkish
### Etymology

Unknown.

### Noun

tonga (definite accusative tongayı, plural tongalar)
* (slang) cheating, trick