Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
La
La
(lä)
, Noun.
(Mus.)
(a)
A syllable applied to the sixth tone of the scale in music in solmization.
(b)
The tone A; – so called among the French and Italians.
1.
Look; see; behold; – sometimes followed by you.
[Obs.]
Shak.
2.
An exclamation of surprise; – commonly followed by me;
as,
La
me! [Low]
Webster 1828 Edition
La
LA
, exclam. [perhaps corrupted from look, but this is doubtful.] Look; see; behold.LA
, in music, the syllable by which Guido denotes the last sound of each hexachord.Definition 2024
La
La
See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"
Vietnamese
Etymology
Sino-Vietnamese word from 羅, from Middle Chinese 羅 (la)
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [l̪aː˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [laː˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [l̻ʲaː˧˥]
- Homophone: la
Proper noun
- A surname.
la
la
See also: Appendix:Variations of "la"
English
Alternative form
Noun
la (plural las)
- (music) A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.
Translations
syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale
Coordinate terms
Interjection
la
- Represents the sound of music or singing.
- "La la la la, I can't hear you!" Jimmy said, sticking his fingers in his ears.
- I couldn't make out the words of the song, it was just a bunch of la la la as far as I could hear.
Etymology 2
From Middle English la, from Old English lā. More at lo.
Alternative forms
Interjection
la
- (obsolete) Used to introduce a statement with emphatic or intensive effect.
- (archaic) Expressing surprise, anger. etc.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
- La, ma'am, what doth your la'ship think? the girl that your la'ship saw at church on Sunday, whom you thought so handsome; though you would not have thought her so handsome neither, if you had seen her nearer, but to be sure she hath been carried before the justice for being big with child.
- 1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility, vol. III ch. 2:
- “Oh, la! here come the Richardsons. I had a vast deal more to say to you, but I must not stay away from them any longer.”
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
Etymology 3
Adjective
la (not comparable)
- Prefixed to the name of a woman, with ironic effect (as though an opera prima donna).
- 2007, Kate Carter, The Guardian, 22 Nov 2007:
- Following lukewarm on the heels of an article a few weeks ago, where (I paraphrase due to having filed the relevant copy in the recycling bin) Victoria Beckham made a "well-meaning" remark that the other Spice Girls might want to lose a few pounds, we now have a new incidence of La Beckham's scintillating and entirely well-meaning humour.
- 2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic 2011, page 232:
- By judicious leaking, he also managed to make la Kirkpatrick and her associates look rather unsavory.
- 2007, Kate Carter, The Guardian, 22 Nov 2007:
Etymology 4
Possibly a shortened form of lad.
Noun
la (plural las)
Statistics
Anagrams
Asturian
Etymology
Article
la f sg (masculine el, neuter lo, masculine plural los, feminine plural les)
- (definite) the
Usage notes
- The article la contracts to l' before a word beginning with a or ha: l'asturiana (the Asturian), l'habitación (the habitation)
Pronoun
la
- her (third-person singular feminine direct pronoun)
Catalan
Etymology 1
From Old Provençal la, from Latin illa(m).
Article
la f (masculine el, masculine plural els, feminine plural les)
- the; feminine singular definite article
Pronoun
la (enclitic and proclitic, contracted proclitic l')
- her (direct object)
Declension
Catalan personal pronouns and clitics
Etymology 2
Noun
la m (plural las)
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /laː/
Noun
la f (plural la's, diminutive laatje n)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Noun
la f (plural la's, diminutive laatje n)
- la (music)
Related terms
Anagrams
Emilian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /la/
| Mirandolese Emilian definite articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| masculine | al 'l |
i gl' |
| feminine | la l' |
li gl' |
Etymology
From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.
Article
la f sg (plural al, el, li)
Esperanto
Etymology
Borrowing from French la, Italian la, Spanish la.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /la/
- Hyphenation: la
Article
la
- the
- la libro — the book
- la libroj — the books
Alternative forms
- l' (poetic)
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Old French la, from Latin illam, which is the accusative singular feminine of ille.[1]
Article
la f sg
- The (definite article).
Pronoun
la
Related terms
French personal pronouns
| Number | Person | Gender | Nominative (subject) |
Reflexive | Accusative (direct complement) |
Dative (indirect complement) |
Locative (at) |
Genitive (of) |
Disjunctive (tonic) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | First | — | je, j’ | me, m’ | — | — | moi | ||
| Second | — | tu | te, t’ | — | — | toi | |||
| Third | Masculine | il | se, s’ | le, l’ | lui | y | en | lui | |
| Feminine | elle | la, l’ | elle | ||||||
| — | on | — | — | — | — | soi | |||
| Plural | First | — | nous | nous | — | — | nous | ||
| Second | — | vous | vous | — | — | vous | |||
| Third | Masculine | ils | se, s’ | les | leur | y | en | eux | |
| Feminine | elles | elles | |||||||
Etymology 2
Noun
la m (plural la)
See also
References
- ↑ Dauzat, Albert; Jean Dubois, Henri Mitterand (1964), “le, la, les”, in Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique (in French), Paris: Librairie Larousse
Friulian
| Friulian Definite Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| masculine | il l' |
i |
| feminine | la l' |
lis |
Etymology
Article
la f sg (plural lis)
See also
Galician
Etymology 1
Pronoun
la f (accusative)
Usage notes
The l- forms of accusative third-person pronouns are used when the preceding word ends in -r or -s, and is suffixed to the preceding word
Related terms
Etymology 2
Noun
la m (plural las)
See also
Etymology 3
Noun
la f (uncountable)
Haitian Creole
Etymology 1
Noun
la
Etymology 2
Article
la
Usage notes
Use this article only after a word that ends with an oral (non-nasal) vowel and an oral consonant, in that order, and when it modifies a singular noun.
See also
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlɒ]
Interjection
la
- (archaic) used in dialects at the end of an exclamatory sentence as an emphasis
- ott van la! - there it is!
- a syllable used when singing a tune without lyrics
Ido
Etymology
Borrowing from Esperanto la, from French la, Italian la, Spanish la.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /la/
Article
la (plural le)
Etymology 2
Borrowing from English la, French la, Italian la, Spanish la, Portuguese lá, German A, Russian ля (lja).
Noun
la (plural le la or lai)
Istriot
Etymology
From Latin illa(m), feminine of ille.
Article
la f sg (masculine el)
- feminine singular definite article the
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:
- Ti son la manduleîna inzucherada.
- You are the sugared almond.
- Ti son la manduleîna inzucherada.
- 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 29:
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /la/
- Rhymes: -a
Etymology 1
From Latin illa(m), feminine form of ille.[1]
Article
| Italian Definite Articles | ||
|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |
| masculine | il lo |
i gli |
| feminine | la | le |
la f sg (plural le)
Usage notes
- The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.
Pronoun
la f sg (plural le)
- her (direct object)
- it (feminine)
- ...una improvvisa timidezza però la immobilizza... (Pasolini) - ...a sudden timidity immobilized her though...
Etymology 2
Noun
la m (invariable)
Derived terms
References
- ↑ Patota, Giuseppe (2002) Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, ISBN 88-15-08638-2, page 127
Anagrams
Kilivila
Verb
-la- [1]
Idioms
- kusisu, bala
See also
References
- ↑ Gunter Senft (1986), Kilivila: the Language of the Trobriand Islanders. Berlin • New York • Amsterdam: Mouton de Gruyter, p. 303. ISBN 3-11-010781-3
Ladin
Etymology
Article
la f (singular)
See also
Usage notes
- The article la elides with words that begin with a vowel, becoming l'.
Lojban
Cmavo
la
- Indicates that the following word is a cmene (proper noun).
Usage notes
- The cmavo la can be used before an ordinary brivla, not just cmevla. So, for example, whereas "lo cribe" could be translated as "bear" or "a bear" and "le cribe" as "the bear", "la cribe" could be translated as "Bear". [1]
- A sumti phrase begun with la can be ended (if necessary) with the elidable terminator ku.
Related terms
References
Mandarin
Pronunciation
Romanization
la (Zhuyin ㄌㄚ˙)
- Pinyin transcription of 啦
- Pinyin transcription of 坼
- Pinyin transcription of 蓗
- Pinyin transcription of 藌
- Pinyin transcription of 鞡
- Nonstandard spelling of lā.
- Nonstandard spelling of lá.
- Nonstandard spelling of lǎ.
- Nonstandard spelling of là.
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Michif
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [la]
Article
la f (masculine li, masculine and feminine plural lii)
Middle French
Etymology 1
From Old French la.
Article
la f (masculine le, masculine and feminine plural les)
Descendants
- French: la
Etymology 2
From Old French la.
Alternative forms
- là (circa 1550)
Adverb
la
Descendants
- French: là
Norman
Etymology
From Old French la, from Latin illa(m).
Pronunciation
Article
la f (plural les)
Coordinate terms
- (gender) lé
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology 1
From the verb late
Verb
la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past lot, past participle latt)
- to let
- La sovende hunder ligge. - Let sleeping dogs lie.
Etymology 2
Verb
la (imperative la, present tense lar, simple past ladde, past participle ladd)
- alternative form of lade
Etymology 3
Verb
la
- simple past of legge
References
- “la” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
Verb
la (present tense lèt or lar, past tense lét or let, past participle late or latt, imperative la)
- let
- La meg få gjera det.
- Let me do it.
- La meg få gjera det.
Etymology 2
Verb
la
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Provençal la, from Latin illa(m).
Article
la (masculine lo, feminine plural las, masculine plural los)
- the; feminine singular definite article
Old French
Etymology
Article
la
- the (feminine singular oblique definite article)
- the (feminine singular nominative definite article)
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- Trop avons fet grant reposee,
Recomançomes la meslee!- We have rested too much
- Let's restart the battle! (literally, the mix)
- Trop avons fet grant reposee,
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
Inflection
Old French definite articles
Pronoun
la
- it (feminine singular object pronoun)
Old Provençal
Etymology
Article
la (masculine lo)
- the; feminine singular definite article
Descendants
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /lɐ/
Pronoun
la
- Alternative form of a (third-person feminine singular objective pronoun) used as an enclitic and mesoclitic following a verb form ending in a consonant (-z, -r and -s, but not -m); the consonant is elided and the preceding vowel takes an accent if necessary
Romanian
Alternative forms
- ла (Moldavia)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /la/
- Rhymes: -a
Etymology 1
Preposition
la (+accusative)
Etymology 2
From Latin lavāre, present active infinitive of lavō.
Alternative forms
- (Transylvania) lăia
Verb
a la (third-person singular present lă, past participle lăut) 1st conj.
- (popular, uncommon) to wash (especially the head)
Conjugation
conjugation of la (first conjugation)
| infinitive | a la | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | lând | ||||||
| past participle | lăut | ||||||
| number | singular | plural | |||||
| person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |
| indicative | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele | |
| present | lau | lai | lă | lăm | lați | lau | |
| imperfect | lam | lai | la | lam | lați | lau | |
| simple perfect | lăui | lăuși | lău | lăurăm | lăurăți | lăură | |
| pluperfect | lăusem | lăuseși | lăuse | lăuserăm | lăuserăți | lăuseră | |
| subjunctive | eu | tu | el/ea | noi | voi | ei/ele | |
| present | să lau | să lai | să lea, laie, leie | să lăm | să lați | să lea, laie, leie | |
| imperative | — | tu | — | — | voi | — | |
| affirmative | lă | lați | |||||
| negative | nu la | nu lați | |||||
Derived terms
- lăutoare, lăutură
Synonyms
Related terms
Sicilian
Etymology
From Latin illa(m), from ille.
Article
la f sg (plural li)
See also
| Sicilian articles | ||
| Masculine | Feminine | |
| indefinite singular | un, nu | na |
| definite singular | lu, û | la, â |
| definite plural | li, î | li, î |
Spanish
Etymology 1
From Old Spanish ela, from Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille.
Article
la f sg (masculine el, feminine plural las, masculine plural los)
Pronoun
la
- Accusative of ella, ello (when the antecedent's implied gender is feminine), and usted (when referring to a woman); her, it, you (formal)
- Impersonal neuter pronoun (accusative) in certain colloquial phrases: 'it', 'this'.
- La sabe toda.
- He/she knows everything (it all)
- ¡Dónde la viste!
- Where have you seen this!
- No te la creo.
- I don't believe you.
- La sabe toda.
Usage notes
- Sometimes used where English would prefer a possessive: "Tengo algo en la bolsa" (literally, I have something in the bag) as opposed to "Tengo algo en mi bolsa". (I have something in my bag).
See also
Spanish personal pronouns
| nominative | dative | accusative | disjunctive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| first person | singular | yo | me | mí1 | |||
| plural | masc. | nosotros | nos | nosotros | |||
| fem. | nosotras | nosotras | |||||
| second person | singular | tuteo | tú | te | ti1 | ||
| voseo | vos | vos | |||||
| formal2 | usted | le | lo/la3 | usted | |||
| plural | familiar4 | masc. | vosotros | os | vosotros | ||
| fem. | vosotras | vosotras | |||||
| formal/general2 | ustedes | les | los/las3 | ustedes | |||
| third person | singular | masc. | él | le | lo | él | |
| fem. | ella | la | ella | ||||
| neut. | ello5 | lo/la3 | ello | ||||
| plural | masc. | ellos | les | los | ellos | ||
| fem. | ellas | las | ellas | ||||
| sing. & pl. | reflexive | — | se | sí1 | |||
- Like other masculine Spanish words, masculine Spanish pronouns can be used when the gender of the subject is unknown or when the subject is plural and of mixed gender.
- If le or les precedes lo, la, los, or las in a clause, it is replaced with se (e.g., "Se lo dije" instead of "Le lo dije")
Etymology 2
Noun
la m (plural las)
See also
Swahili
Etymology 1
From Proto-Bantu. Compare Zulu -dla.
Verb
-la (infinitive kula)
- to eat
Conjugation
affirmative conjugation of la
| infinitive | kula | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular person | ||||||||||
| 1st person mimi |
2nd person wewe |
3rd person/Class 1 yeye/(m) |
Class 3 (m) |
Class 5 (ji) |
Class 7 (ki) |
Class 9 (n) |
Class 11/14 (u) |
|||
| indicative | general | nala | wala | ala | wala | lala | chala | yala | wala | |
| progressive | ninakula | unakula | anakula | unakula | linakula | kinakula | inakula | unakula | ||
| habitual | hula | |||||||||
| past | nilikula | ulikula | alikula | ulikula | lilikula | kilikula | ilikula | ulikula | ||
| perfect | nimekula | umekula | amekula | umekula | limekula | kimekula | imekula | umekula | ||
| future | nitakula | utakula | atakula | utakula | litakula | kitakula | itakula | utakula | ||
| consecutive | nikala | ukala | akala | ukala | likala | kikala | ikala | ukala | ||
| conditional | present | ningekula | ungekula | angekula | ungekula | lingekula | kingekula | ingekula | ungekula | |
| past | ningalikula | ungalikula | angalikula | ungalikula | lingalikula | kingalikula | ingalikula | ungalikula | ||
| subjunctive | general | nile | ule | ale | ule | lile | kile | ile | ule | |
| consecutive | nikale | ukale | akale | ukale | likale | kikale | ikale | ukale | ||
| comitative | nikila | ukila | akila | ukila | likila | kikila | ikila | ukila | ||
| imperative | kula! __le!‡ |
|||||||||
| plural person | ||||||||||
| 1st person sisi |
2nd person ninyi |
3rd person/Class 2 wao/(wa) |
Class 4 (mi) |
Class 6 (ma) |
Class 8 (vi) |
Class 10 (n) |
Class 10 (n)† |
|||
| indicative | general | twala | mwala | wala | yala | yala | vyala | zala | zala | |
| progressive | tunala | mnala | wanala | inala | yanala | vinala | zinala | zinala | ||
| habitual | hula | |||||||||
| past | tulikula | mlikula | walikula | ilikula | yalikula | vilikula | zilikula | zilikula | ||
| perfect | tumekula | mmekula | wamekula | imekula | yamekula | vimekula | zimekula | zimekula | ||
| future | tutakula | mtakula | watakula | itakula | yatakula | vitakula | zitakula | zitakula | ||
| consecutive | tukala | mkala | wakala | ikala | yakala | vikala | zikala | zikala | ||
| conditional | present | tungekula | mngekula | wangekula | ingekula | yangekula | vingekula | zingekula | zingekula | |
| past | tungalikula | mngalikula | wangalikula | ingalikula | yangalikula | vingalikula | zingalikula | zingalikula | ||
| subjunctive | general | tule | mle | wale | ile | yale | vile | zile | zile | |
| consecutive | tukale | mkale | wakale | ikale | yakale | vikale | zikale | zikale | ||
| comitative | tukila | mkila | wakila | ikila | yakila | vikila | zikila | zikila | ||
| imperative | tule | kuleni! __leni!‡ |
||||||||
†Plural for Class 11 nouns only; No plural for identical nouns of Class 14 that share the same affix
‡Imperatives that take an object use the second form
negative conjugation of la
| infinitive | kutola | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular person | ||||||||||
| 1st person mimi |
2nd person wewe |
3rd person/Class 1 yeye/(m) |
Class 3 (m) |
Class 5 (ji) |
Class 7 (ki) |
Class 9 (n) |
Class 11/14 (u) |
|||
| indicative | general | sili | huli | hali | hauli | halili | hakili | haili | hauli | |
| progressive | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | ||
| habitual | Use General Form | |||||||||
| past | sikula | hukula | hakula | haukula | halikula | hakikula | haikula | haukula | ||
| perfect | sijala | hujala | hajala | haujala | halijala | hakijala | haijala | haujala | ||
| future | sitakula | hutakula | hatakula | hautakula | halitakula | hakitakula | haitakula | hautakula | ||
| consecutive | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | ||
| conditional | present | nisingekula | usingekula | asingekula | usingekula | lisingekula | kisingekula | isingekula | usingekula | |
| past | nisingalikula | usingalikula | asingalikula | usingalikula | lisingalikula | kisingalikula | isingalikula | usingalikula | ||
| subjunctive | general | nisile | usile | asile | usile | lisile | kisile | isile | usile | |
| consecutive | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | ||
| comitative | nisipokula | usipokula | asipokula | usipokula | lisipokula | kisipokula | isipokula | usipokula | ||
| imperative | usile!‡ | |||||||||
| plural person | ||||||||||
| 1st person sisi |
2nd person ninyi |
3rd person/Class 2 wao/(wa) |
Class 4 (mi) |
Class 6 (ma) |
Class 8 (vi) |
Class 10 (n) |
Class 10 (n)† |
|||
| indicative | general | hatuli | hamli | hawali | haili | hayali | havili | hazili | hazili | |
| progressive | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | Use General Form | ||
| habitual | Use General Form | |||||||||
| past | hatukula | hamkula | hawakula | haikula | hayakula | havikula | hazikula | hazikula | ||
| perfect | hatujala | hamjala | hawajala | haijala | hayajala | havijala | hazijala | hazijala | ||
| future | hatutakula | hamtakula | hawatakula | haitakula | hayatakula | havitakula | hazitakula | hazitakula | ||
| consecutive | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | ||
| conditional | present | tusingekula | msingekula | wasingekula | isingekula | yasingekula | visingekula | zisingekula | zisingekula | |
| past | tusingalikula | msingalikula | wasingalikula | isingalikula | yasingalikula | visingalikula | zisingalikula | zisingalikula | ||
| subjunctive | general | tusile | msile | wasile | isile | yasile | visile | zisile | zisile | |
| consecutive | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | Use Subjunctive Form | ||
| comitative | tusipokula | msipokula | wasipokula | isipokula | yasipokula | visipokula | zisipokula | zisipokula | ||
| imperative | tusile | msile!‡ | ||||||||
†Plural for Class 11 nouns only; No plural for identical nouns of Class 14 that share the same affix
‡Imperatives that take an object use the second form
Etymology 2
Interjection
la
See also
- siyo
- hapana
Etymology 3
See -a.
Particle
la
- Ji class inflected form of -a.
Swedish
Alternative forms
Verb
la
- past tense of lägga.
Conjunction
la
- (regional, nonstandard) Alternative form of väl
Tsafiki
Pronoun
la
- I; the first-person singular masculine pronoun; the first-person singular pronoun used by adult men
Coordinate terms
- čiʰké (first-person singular feminine pronoun, first-person singular pronoun used by adult women)
- če (first-person singular pronoun used by children)
- čiʰke-lá (first-person plural pronoun)
References
- The Languages of the Andes (2004, Willem F. H. Adelaar, Pieter C. Muysken)
Vietnamese
Etymology
Sino-Vietnamese word from 騾
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [l̪aː˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [laː˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [l̻ʲaː˧˥]
Noun
la
Verb
la