ah
Part of speech: intj
noun
verb
particle
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: From Middle English ah, aa, a (“ah”), of imitative origin, or from Old English ēa, *eah (“oh, alas”), from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah (“ah”). Earliest recorded use is circa 1175 in the Ormulum: A, Maȝȝstre! icc wat tatt tu full wiss Arrt Godess Sune ("Ah, Master! I know for sure that thou art God's Son"). Some propose that the Middle English is borrowed from Old French a (“ah!, oh!, hey!”) (represented by modern French ah).
Compare also West Frisian a, ah (“ah”), Dutch a, ah (“ah”), Middle Low German a (“ah”), Old High German a, aa, ah (“ah, oh”) (whence modern German ah), Faroese áh (“oh, ah, alas”), Icelandic æ, ai (“ah, oh”), Latin ah (“ah”).
Inflected forms:
form: ahs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: ahs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: ahing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: ahed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: ahed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: ar
pos: particle
tags: alternative
form: arh
pos: particle
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: An expression of relief, relaxation, comfort, confusion, understanding, wonder, awe, etc. according to uttered inflection.
pos: intj
examples: Ah, I understand now.
Ah! It's good to be back home!
Ah, the flowers of spring.
gloss: A syllable used to fill space, particularly in music.
pos: intj
examples: Boy don't try to front, uh, I
Know just, just, what you are, ah, ah.
gloss: An instance of the interjection ah.
pos: noun
examples: the crowd's oohs and ahs at the fireworks
gloss: To give a cry of "ah".
pos: verb
examples: Mother and dad oohed and ahed over Cindy. She was only two months old but already was developing her personality.
gloss: Marks a yes–no tag question prompting the listener to clarify or confirm something.
pos: particle
tags: interrogative
examples: Pitch contour: low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/, [ä˨]
You’re dyslexic ah?
So how are you Jackson? Very busy, ah? Never come around to see me these days.
Cannot talk-ah? God give you mouth for what? No courtesy-ah? Kanneena!
Only 2 ft apart considered safe ah?
gloss: Reinforces a short, non-rhetorical wh-question.
pos: particle
tags: interrogative
examples: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
How do you delete this row ah?
See how lor. Who’s going ar?
gloss: Emphasizes the need for absolute confirmation, permission or acknowledgment.
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
Don’t drink and drive ah...
Sure, ah? Thanks, man, pai seh.
gloss: A particle indicating the topic of a sentence from its comment.
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
The drilling upstairs ah, non-stop leh.
These fish, ah, anything also eat one.
gloss: A confirmative final particle used in the middle of a sentence to ascertain the continued attention of the listener.
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: rising /ɑ(ː)˨˦/
Near-synonym: right
You know, arh, Isaac—I’ve liked you from the very start, he said. I consider myself very lucky to be your manager.
gloss: Tagged at the end of non-interrogative sentence to convey a sense of informality or resignation.
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/
I got tell them ah, guys.
Fail already ah.
gloss: A vocative particle, now mostly used by Chinese elders for direct address (over telephone calls, or if the addressee is far away).
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/
Hello? Joey ah?
Susie ah, Emily here ah. This afternoon I'm going to town, anything that you're needing?
gloss: Used as an intensifier in fixed expressions, sometimes exhortative in meaning.
pos: particle
examples: Pitch contour: mid-falling /ɑ(ː)˧˨/, low-mid /ɑ(ː)˨/
Heng ah...
Related words: aah
aha
ha
oh
uh
Derived words: ah ah ah
ah-bup-bup
ah-choo
ah me
ah well
alack
ooh-ah-ah
ooh ah ah
Translations: