# za-
## Czech
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-. Prefixed form of the preposition za.

### Prefix

za-
* behind, off (out of the field of vision) (used with the preposition za)
    ‎za- + ‎jít → ‎zajít
    Zašel za strom. ― He went behind a tree.
    Slunce zašlo za mraky. ― The sun went behind the clouds.
* turn aside into, get into
    ‎za- + ‎hnout → ‎zahnout
    ‎za- + ‎bodnout → ‎zabodnout
    ‎za- + ‎milovat (“to love”) → ‎zamilovat se (“fall in love”)
    Nikdy se nechci zamilovat. ― I never want to fall in love.
* covering by carrying out another activity, cover over, block
    ‎za- + ‎krýt → ‎zakrýt
    ‎za- + ‎balit → ‎zabalit
    ‎za- + ‎růst → ‎zarůst
    ‎za- + ‎malovat → ‎zamalovat
    ‎za- + ‎stínit → ‎zastínit
    Ulice se zalidnily. ― The street got crowded.
* activity carried out with pleasure (with reflexive si)
    ‎za- + ‎plavat → ‎zaplavat si
    Chci si jít zaplavat. ― I want to go for a swim.
    ‎za- + ‎tančit → ‎zatančit si
    ‎za- + ‎kouřit → ‎zakouřit si
* immerse in, full devotion to an activity
    ‎za- + ‎poslouchat → ‎zaposlouchat se
    Zaposlouchal se do hudby. ― He immersed himself in the music.
    ‎za- + ‎číst → ‎začíst se
    ‎za- + ‎myslet → ‎zamyslet se
    Nad otázkou se hluboce zamyslel. ― He thought deeply about the question.
* put away, lose, destroy
    ‎za- + ‎hodit → ‎zahodit
    ‎za- + ‎bít → ‎zabít
    ‎za- + ‎střelit → ‎zastřelit
    ‎za- + ‎dýchat (“to breathe”) → ‎zadýchat se (“to get out of breath”)
    Zadýchám se, když běžím nahoru po schodech. ― I get winded when I run up the stairs.
* instead of, in place of
    ‎za- + ‎stoupit → ‎zastoupit
    ‎za- + ‎měnit (“to change”) → ‎zaměnit (“to mix up, to swap”)
    Jo, je dobré to trochu zaměnit. ― Yeah, it's good to mix it up.
* (inchoative usage) to begin (not a common usage)
    ‎za- + ‎topit → ‎zatopit
    ‎za- + ‎pálit → ‎zapálit
* saturation
* forms adjectives referring to places
    Zakarpatsko (“Transcarpathia”)
    Zakavkazsko (“Transcaucasia”)

#### Derived terms

* zabudovat
* začarovat
* zadrhnout
* zahrát
* zaklít
* zakročit
* zalyžovat
* zamávat
* zamluvit
* zamočit
* zamořit
* zamračit
* zamýšlet
* zanést
* zanořit
* zaplavat
* zapojit
* zasklít
* zaskočit
* zaslat
* zasunout
* zazimovat

### Further reading

* za-/zá- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

## Northern Ndebele
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

### Prefix

za-
* of; class 8 possessive concord.
* of; class 10 possessive concord.

## Old Polish
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (10th–15th CE) /za/
* IPA: (15th CE) /za/

### Prefix

za-
* derives verbs of various meanings
    ‎za- + ‎ślepy → ‎zaślepić

#### Descendants

* Polish: za-

## Polish
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish za-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /za/
* Rhymes: -a
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

### Prefix

za-
* forms perfective semelfactive verbs, usually indicating a thorough or irreversible action
    ‎za- + ‎kryć → ‎zakryć

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* za- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

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

### Prefix

za- (Cyrillic spelling за-)
* Prefix prepended to adjectives to create an adjective denoting a finished action.

#### Derived terms
## Slovene
### Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *za-. Prefixed form of the preposition za.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /za-/

### Prefix

za-
* Forms perfective verbs with the following meanings:
** (no change in meaning)
    ‎za- + ‎čutīti (“to feel”) → ‎začutīti (“to feel”)
** moving behind
    ‎za- + ‎īti (“to go”) → ‎zaíti (“to set (of the sun)”)
** moving into
    ‎za- + ‎brésti (“to wade”) → ‎zabrésti (“to wade into”)
** to begin, to start (inchoative)
    ‎za- + ‎díhati (“to breathe”) → ‎zadíhati (“to start to breathe”)
** in error, to a loss
    ‎za- + ‎īti (“to go”) → ‎zaíti (“to go astray”)
    ‎za- + ‎kọ̑ckati (“to play dice”) → ‎zakọ̑ckati (“to gamble away”)
** (reflexive) for a long time, too long
    ‎za- + ‎govorīti (“to speak”) → ‎zagovorīti (“to talk for a long time/too long”)
** to cover, to fill
    ‎za- + ‎mésti (“to snow”) → ‎zamésti (“to snow in, to cover in snow”)

#### Derived terms
## Slovincian
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *za-.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /za/

### Prefix

za-
* forms perfective verbs
    ‎mjêszkac + ‎za- → ‎zamjêszkac
** forms perfective verbs with an inchoative meaning
    ‎ochac + ‎za- → ‎zaochac

## Southern Ndebele
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

### Prefix

za-
* of; class 8 possessive concord.
* of; class 10 possessive concord.

## Swahili
### Prefix

za-
* Contraction of zi- + -a- (“n class$_{(X)}$ gnomic”).

## Xhosa
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

### Prefix

za-
* of; class 8 possessive concord.
* of; class 10 possessive concord.

## Zulu
### Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *jíá-.

### Prefix

za-
* of; class 8 possessive concord.
* of; class 10 possessive concord.

### References

* C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “za-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “za-”