English Online Dictionary. What means ab? What does ab mean?
Translingual
Symbol
ab
- (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Abkhaz.
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /æb/
- Rhymes: -æb
Etymology 1
Abbreviation of abdominal muscles.
Noun
ab (plural abs)
- (informal) abdominal muscle. [Mid 20th century.]
- 2010, Bill Geiger, "6-pack Abs in 9 Weeks", Reps! 17:106
- When possible, do your ab workout on a day when you're not training a major muscle group […] .
Usage notes
Most often used attributively. Substantive use is more common in the plural form abs.
Translations
Etymology 2
Abbreviation of abscess.
Noun
ab (plural abs)
- (slang) An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.
Translations
Etymology 3
Abbreviations.
Verb
ab (third-person singular simple present abs, present participle abbing, simple past and past participle abbed)
- (climbing, informal) To abseil.
- Abbreviation of abort.
Noun
ab
- Abbreviation of abortion.
Preposition
ab
- Abbreviation of about.
Adverb
ab
- Abbreviation of about.
Etymology 4
From the spelling books and the fact that it was the first of the letter combinations.
Noun
ab (plural abs)
- (US) The early stages of; the beginning process; the start.
References
- “ab”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
- "ab" in Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 2002.
- “ab”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Anagrams
- -ba-, B. A., B.A., BA, Ba, ba, ba'
Aynu
Etymology
Borrowed from Persian آب (âb).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑb/
Noun
ab
- water
References
- Otto Ladstätter, Andreas Tietze, Die Abdal (Äynu) in Xinjiang (1994)
Azerbaijani
Etymology
Borrowed from Classical Persian آب (āb).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɑb]
Noun
ab (definite accusative abı, plural ablar)
- (Classical Azerbaijani) water
- Synonym: su
Declension
Related terms
- ab-hava (“climate”)
- abı (“sky-blue”)
Blagar
Noun
ab
- fish
References
- A. Schapper (citing Steinhauer), Elevation in the spatial deictic systems of Alor-Pantar languages, in The Alor-Pantar languages: History and Typology, edited by Marian Klamer
- ASJP, citing L. C. Robinson and G. Holton, Internal classification of the Alor-Pantar language family using computational methods applied to the lexicon (2012)
Catalan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ap/
- (Before a voiced consonant or a vowel) IPA(key): /ab/
- (Before a voiced consonant or a vowel in betacist dialects) IPA(key): /aβ/
Preposition
ab
- Obsolete form of amb.
Danish
Etymology 1
From Latin ab (“of, from”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ab/, [ɑb̥]
Preposition
ab
- ex (out of, sold from)
- from (with the origin in time)
Etymology 2
See abe (“to ape, mimic”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aːb/, [æːˀb̥]
Verb
ab
- imperative of abe
Further reading
- “ab” in Den Danske Ordbog
East Central German
Particle
ab
- (Strehlen and Schömberg, Silesian) negative particle, do not
East Yugur
Etymology
From Proto-Mongolic *ab-, compare Mongolian авах (avax).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /abqʰə/, [aβqʰə]
Verb
ab
- to take
German
Pronunciation
- (Germany) IPA(key): /ap/, /ɑp/
- (Switzerland, Austro-Bavarian) IPA(key): /ɑb̥/
- Rhymes: -ap
Etymology 1
From Middle High German abe, ab, from Old High German ab, from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab.
Preposition
ab (+ dative)
- beginning at that time or location; from
Derived terms
- ab und zu
Descendants
- Norwegian Bokmål: ab
Etymology 2
From adverbial use of the preposition in verbs such as abschlagen, abgehen etc.
Adjective
ab (strong nominative masculine singular (nonstandard) abber, not comparable)
- (colloquial, predicative) off; not attached to anything anymore
- (nonstandard, attributive) off; not attached to anything anymore
Usage notes
- The predicative use is common in colloquial German throughout the country.
- The attributive forms are mostly used in Western and Northern Germany and are considerably less common than the predicative use. They used to be used mostly jocularly, but become gradually more frequent since they are much shorter than the appropriate full verb forms such as abgetrennt (“disconnected, severed”).
- The inflected attributive forms retain the devoiced consonant. Hence, sometimes they are spelled with p, rather than b: appes Bein.
Declension
Related terms
- abseits
Indonesian
Noun
ab (first-person possessive abku, second-person possessive abmu, third-person possessive abnya)
- small pot
- (dated) father (aba)
Interlingua
Preposition
ab
- from
Irish
Etymology 1
From Latin abbas (“father”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), from Aramaic אַבָּא (’abbā, “father”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /abˠ/
Noun
ab m (genitive singular aba, nominative plural abaí)
- (Christianity) abbot
- Coordinate terms: ban-ab, máthairab
Declension
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Contraction of the relative particle a and the prevocalic variant of the past/conditional copula particle b’.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əbˠ/
Particle
ab
- Alternative form of ba (used in relative clauses before a vowel sound).
- buachaill ab áirde ná mo dheartháir ― a boy (who was) taller than my brother
Related terms
Mutation
Further reading
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “ab”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- Entries containing “ab” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “ab” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
K'iche'
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /aːɓ/
Noun
ab
- hammock
- steam
- mist
References
- Allen J. Christenson, Kʼiche-English dictionary, page 7
Kein
Noun
ab
- fire
Further reading
- Johannes A. Z'Graggen, The Madang-Adelbert Range Sub-Phylum (1975) (as ʌb)
- Bemal Organized Phonology Data (as ab)
Latin
Alternative forms
- ā (not used before a vowel or h)
- abs (archaic, exclusively used before the pronoun te)
- af (archaic)
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *ap, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”) (whence English off, of and after). See also po-. Cognate with ᾰ̓πό (apó).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ab/, [äb]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ab/, [äb]
Preposition
ab (+ ablative)
- (indicating ablation): from, away from, out of
- (indicating ablation): down from
- (indicating agency): (source of action or event) by, by means of
- (indicating instrumentality): (source of action or event) by, by means of, with
- (indicating association): to, with
- Heauton Timorumenos (“The Self-Tormentor”) by Publius Terentius Afer
- Homo sum, humani nihil ā me alienum puto.
- I am a man, I consider nothing that is human alien to me.
- Homo sum, humani nihil ā me alienum puto.
- Heauton Timorumenos (“The Self-Tormentor”) by Publius Terentius Afer
- (indicating location): at, on, in
- (time) after, since
Usage notes
Used in conjunction with passive verbs to mark the agent.
Descendants
- French: à
- Italian: a
- Spanish: a
- Portuguese: a
- → Norwegian Bokmål: a, ab (learned)
References
- “ab”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ab in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- Latin Dictionary, Lewis and Short, 1879.
- Lingua Latina, Hans H. Ørberg, 2005.
Latvian
Conjunction
ab
- (archaic) or
Synonyms
- vai
Preposition
ab
- (archaic) around
Synonyms
- ap
Livonian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑb/
Noun
a'b
- (anatomy) shoulder
- Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA
- pǟ um abūd vaisõ sizzõl viedtõd
- recoiled, flinched (lit. "head is drawn in shoulders")
- pǟ um abūd vaisõ sizzõl viedtõd
- Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz, Tartu, Rīga: TÜ, LVA
- help
Usage notes
LĒL also features a partitive plural form with -īdi as in the example abīdi nustõ "to shrug."
Declension
Middle Irish
Alternative forms
- aband, abann
Etymology
From Old Irish aub, from Proto-Celtic *abū.
Noun
ab f (genitive aba)
- river
Descendants
- Irish: abha, abhainn
- Manx: awin
- Scottish Gaelic: abhainn
Mutation
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɑːb/
- Rhymes: -ɑːb
- Hyphenation: ab
Etymology 1
From German ab (“from”), from Middle High German ab, from Old High German ab (“of”), from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away, away from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”).
Preposition
ab
- (economics) from; (i.e. delivered) for the seller's expense at a location and forwarded for the buyer's expense
- ab Frankfurt ― from Frankfurt
- ab varelager ― from inventory
- ab fabrikk ― from factory
- (economics, obsolete) as of
Derived terms
- abgeschmackt (“gross, tasteless”)
- abgeschmackthet (“grossness, tastelessness”)
Etymology 2
From Latin ab (“from, away from, on, in”), from Proto-Italic *ab, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”).
Pronunciation
- (modern) IPA(key): /ˈɑːbə/
- (older) IPA(key): /ɑˈbeː/
- (modern)
- (older)
- Rhymes: -ɑːbə, -eː
- Hyphenation: a‧b
Preposition
ab
- Only used in ab ovo (“ab ovo”)
Etymology 3
Abbreviation of avbetaling (“installment”), verbal noun form of avbetale (“to pay off”), a compound of av + betale, first part av (“of, from, by, off”), from Old Norse af (“of, from, off, by”), from Proto-Germanic *ab (“away from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”) + second part betale (“pay, purchase”), from Middle Low German betalen (“of, from, off, by”), last part is the suffix -ing (“-ing”), from Old Norse -ingr m, -ingi m, -ing f, from Proto-Germanic *-ingō, *-ungō.
Noun
ab
- (colloquial) Abbreviation of avbetaling (“installment”).
Derived terms
Related terms
- avbetale (“pay in installments”)
References
- “ab_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “ab_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “ab_3” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
- “ab” in Store norske leksikon
Occitan
Alternative forms
- amb
- dab (Gascon)
- damb (Gascon, Aranese)
- ambé (Provençal)
- embé (Provençal, Niçard)
Etymology
From Latin ab.
Preposition
ab
- (Guardiol) with
References
- Pei, Mario A. 1948. Ab and the survival of the Latin genitive in Old Italian. Italica 25. 104–106.
Old French
Etymology
Reduced form of Latin apud.
Preposition
ab
- (10th century) with
Synonyms
- avoec (used throughout Old French into the Middle and modern French periods)
Old High German
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *ab.
Preposition
ab
- of
Descendants
- German: ab
- Norwegian Bokmål: ab
Old Occitan
Etymology
Reduced form of Latin apud
Preposition
ab
- with
Descendants
- Occitan: amb
Parauk
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ap/
Verb
ab
- to give, hand over.
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
Compare German ab, Dutch af, English off.
Preposition
ab
- off
- from
- away
Pumpokol
Noun
ab
- father
Romani
Noun
ab m (plural ab)
- river
Scots
Etymology
Uncertain. Compare English hobble, Dutch hobbelen (“to lurch”), Danish happe (“to stutter”), Norwegian jabba (“to stammer”) and colloquial Swedish happla (“to stutter”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ab/
Noun
ab (plural abs)
- (Orkney) impediment, hindrance, objection.
Verb
ab (simple past abed)
- (Orkney) to hinder
References
- “ab, n.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
Scottish Gaelic
Noun
ab m (genitive singular aba, plural abachan)
- Alternative form of aba
Sumerian
Romanization
ab
- Romanization of 𒀊 (ab)
Turkish
Alternative forms
- âb
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish آب (āb, “water”), from Persian آب (âb).
Noun
ab (definite accusative abı, plural ablar)
- (obsolete, poetic) water
References
- Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “ab”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
Volapük
Etymology
Borrowed from German aber (“but”).
Conjunction
ab
- but
Welsh
Etymology
From fab, soft mutation of mab (“son”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ab/
Prefix
ab
- A patronymic indicator; son of.
Usage notes
This form is found before vowels. Before a consonant, the form ap is used.
Antonyms
- ach
- ferch
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ab”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
Wolof
Article
ab
- a/an (singular indefinite article)
Usage notes
Precedes the noun.