ca

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ca"

Languages (43)

Translingual • English

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A-Pucikwar • Albanian • Alutiiq • Asturian • Canela • Catalan • Central Nahuatl • Chibcha • Classical Nahuatl • Dinka • Fala • Fijian • French • Galician • Hausa • Ido • Indonesian • Italian • Kayan • Ladin • Linngithigh • Lolopo • Malay • Mandarin • Muong • Neapolitan • Old English • Pali • Piedmontese • Portuguese • Romagnol • Romanian • Romansch • Scots • Southwestern Dinka • Spanish • Swedish • Tarantino • Tày • Vietnamese • Welsh

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

ca

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Catalan.

English

Preposition

ca

1. Alternative spelling of ca.

Anagrams

• A.C., a-c, ac., ℀, ac-, ac, a/c, AC, -ac, Ac, a.c., A/C

A-Pucikwar

Etymology

From Proto-Great Andamanese *ciəp.

Noun

ca

1. belt
2. band
3. sling

Verb

ca

1. to adjoin
2. to fasten

References

• Juliette Blevins, Linguistic clues to Andamanese pre-history: Understanding the North-South divide, pg. 20 & 22 (2009)

Albanian

Alternative forms

• disa

Etymology

From the contracted form of disa, dsa.

Pronoun

ca

1. some

Related terms

• sa
• di

References

Alutiiq

Etymology

From Proto-Eskimo *cu(na)- base, “nothing, anything”

Interjection

ca

1. I don’t know

   Cacaq ang’aqurtau’u? -Ca.

   What is she carrying? -I don’t know.

References

• Fortescue, Michael. Comparative Eskimo Dictionary with Aleut Cognates. Alaska Native Language Center, 2010
• Leer, Jeff. Classroom Grammar of Koniag Alutiiq, Kodiak Island Dialect, Volume 1, Alaska Native Language Center, 1990

Asturian

Etymology 1

From Latin quia.

Conjunction

ca

1. because

   Nun mientas, ca dir foi.

   Don't lie, because he did go.

   Ca inda son piores qu’estudiantes.

   Because they are still worse than students.

Etymology 2

Shortening of casa from Latin casa.

Noun

ca f (plural cas)

1. (in certain contexts) house

Taben en ca Xuan

They were at Xuan's house

Usage notes

The form ca is used only behind a proper noun or pronoun, usually the house's owner, and it would equivalent to saying "casa de". Additionally, the form "p'en ca" would be equivalent to "pa casa de" (for X's house) and "an ca" would be equivalent to "contra casa de" (towards X's house).

Esta ye ca Antón ― This is Antón's house

Esta casa ye d'Antón ― This house is Antón's

Esta comida ye p'en ca Antón ― This food is for Antón's house

Esta comida ye pa la casa onde vive Antón ― This food is for the house where Antón resides

Adjective

ca

1. Alternative form of cada

Adverb

ca

1. Alternative form of acá

Interjection

¡ca!

1. interjection of negation (no way!) or incredulity

   -¿Vas pa la sablera comigo? -¡Cá! Ye mui peligroso con esti tiempu

   Are you going to the beach with me? -No way! It's too dangerous with this weather

References

• https://mas.lne.es/diccionario/palabra/4801
• https://mas.lne.es/diccionario/palabra/4803

• https://www.diccionariu.alladixital.org/index.php?cod=8782

Canela

Etymology

From Proto-Northern Jê *ga (“to roast (singular)”), from Proto-Cerrado *ga (“to roast (singular)”), from Proto-Jê [Term?], from Proto-Macro-Jê *ap .

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka/

Verb

ca (cu-class; non-finite xàr)

1. roast on embers (singular)

   Incrô na imã tep ca.

   Roast a fish (wrapped up in banana leaves) on the embers for me.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈka]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin canis, canem (“dog”).

Noun

ca m (plural cans)

1. dog

   Synonym: gos m

Usage notes

• This term is used in Catalonia or Valencia only in stock phrases, with gos (feminine gossa) being the term generally used for a dog.
• In the Balearics, ca has retained its use as the primary word for a dog. However, instead of a feminine of ca, *cana, being used for a female dog, in the Balearics, cussa, the feminine of cus (“little dog”) is used.
• Note also that those breeds of dogs that originated in the Balearics use ca and not gos to form name of the breed.

Hyponyms

• (Balearics) cus m (“little dog”), (Balearics) cussa f (“female dog”)
• gos m (“male dog”), gossa f (“female dog”)

Derived terms

• acanissar (“to sic a dog on”)
• ca de bestiar (“Majorca Shepherd Dog”)
• ca de bou (“Majorca Mastiff”)
• ca eivissenc (“Ibizan Hound”)
• Ca Major (“Canis Majory”)
• ca mè mallorquí (“Majorcan Pointer”)
• ca petaner
• ca rater mallorquí (“Majorcan Ratter”)

Etymology 2

Noun

ca f (plural cas)

1. the letter K (lowercase k)

Usage notes

• The letter K is not used in native Catalan words and thus its presence in a word is a fairly reliable indicator of a recent import.

Etymology 3

Apocopated form of casa. Compare French chez, Spanish ca, Italian ca'.

Particle

ca

1. the house (of)

   Anem a ca la Maria. ― We are going to Maria’s house.

   Aquell casalot és cal Ramon. ― That mansion is Ramon’s house.

   Parlem català a ca nostra. ― We speak Catalan at our house.

Usage notes

• When followed by one of the articles el, els, en, and es, the word ca contracts with them into cal, cals, can, and cas, respectively.

Derived terms

• cal, cals, can, cas

Central Nahuatl

Verb

ca

1. To be.

Chibcha

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka/

Noun

ca

1. fence

References

• Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

Classical Nahuatl

Verb

ca

1. to be in a location

Usage notes

Ca is an irregular verb; its plural form is cate.

Particle

ca

Used in affirmative statements.

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Dinka

Noun

ca (plural caak)

1. milk

References

• Dinka-English Dictionary‎, 2005

Fala

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka/
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ca

Adverb

ca

1. (Valverdeñu) Alternative form of acá (“here”)

References

• Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎, 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Fijian

Adjective

ca

1. bad, evil, base, vile
2. naughty
3. direful
4. pernicious
5. ruined, destroyed

Noun

ca

1. badness
2. illness, calamity
3. harm

French

Preposition

ca

1. Abbreviation of circa.

Further reading

• “ca”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology 1

From Old Galician-Portuguese ca (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin quam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɐ]

Conjunction

ca

1. than

   Synonym: ca non

   As miñas irmás son máis altas ca min.

   My sisters are taller than I am.

Derived terms

• ca non
• có

Etymology 2

From Old Galician-Portuguese ca (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin quia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɐ]

Conjunction

ca

1. (archaic) because, since

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “ca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “ca”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “ca”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “ca”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃáː/, /t͡ʃâː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [t͡ʃáː], [t͡ʃâː]

Ideophone

cā or câ

1. splattering of boiling fat

Ido

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tsa/

Determiner

ca (plural ci)

1. Alternative form of ica (“this”)

Indonesian

Etymology

From Hokkien 炒 (chhá, “to stir fry; to sauté”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃa/
• Rhymes: -t͡ʃa
• Hyphenation: ca

Noun

ca (plural ca-ca)

1. a dish which uses the sauté technique

Further reading

• “ca” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Italian

Etymology 1

Preposition

ca

1. Abbreviation of circa.

See also

• calcio
• ca'
• c.a.

Etymology 2

Inherited from a combination of Latin quam and quia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka/^°[1]
• Rhymes: -a
• Hyphenation: cà

Conjunction

ca

1. (archaic or dialectal) that, because

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• cappa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): ^**/ˈka/^*[1]
• Rhymes: -a

Noun

ca m or f (invariable)

1. The name of the Latin-script letter K/k.

References

1. ca in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Anagrams

• AC, a.C., a.c.

Kayan

Noun

ca

1. brown.

Noun

ca

1. uncle, aunt.

Adjective

ca

1. brown.

Ladin

Adverb

ca

1. (Gherdëina) hither, to this place, to here, to me/us

Antonyms

• via

Related terms

• da oradecà
• caprò
• docà
• ca tlo

Linngithigh

Noun

ca

1. language
2. speech

Lolopo

Etymology

From Proto-Loloish *tsaŋ¹ (Bradley). Cognate with Nuosu ꊿ (co).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tsʰa³³]

Noun

ca 

1. (Yao'an) person; people

Malay

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Etymology

Likely from Cantonese 茶 (caa4)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃa/

Noun

ca (Jawi spelling چا, informal 1st possessive caku, 2nd possessive camu, 3rd possessive canya)

1. tea

Synonyms

• teh

Mandarin

Romanization

ca

1. Nonstandard spelling of cā.
2. Nonstandard spelling of cǎ.
3. Nonstandard spelling of cà.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Muong

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *r-kaː. Cognate with Vietnamese gà.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaː¹/

Noun

ca

1. (Mường Bi) chicken

   tàn ca ― a flock of chickens

References

Nguyễn Văn Khang, Bùi Chỉ, Hoàng Văn Hành (2002) Từ điển Mường - Việt (Muong - Vietnamese dictionary)‎, Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Văn hoá Dân tộc Hà Nội.

Neapolitan

Etymology

Variant of che, from Latin quid, quod. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka/

Adverb

ca

1. what

Conjunction

ca

1. than (comparison between adjectives only)
2. that (as in 'the boy that I saw' ("O guaglio' ca vist'"))

Pronoun

ca

1. that
2. who
3. which

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɑː/

Proper noun

cā m

1. jackdaw

References

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Keyworth”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 298.

Pali

Alternative forms

Alternative scripts

• 𑀘 (Brahmi script)
• च (Devanagari script)
• চ (Bengali script)
• ච (Sinhalese script)
• စ or ၸ (Burmese script)
• จ or จะ (Thai script)
• ᨧ (Tai Tham script)
• ຈ or ຈະ (Lao script)
• ច (Khmer script)
• 𑄌 (Chakma script)

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit च (ca).

Particle

ca

1. and (copulative particle)

Piedmontese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin casa. Compare Italian casa, Lombard cà.

Noun

ca f

1. house

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Latin quam.

Conjunction

ca

1. (dated) than

Etymology 2

Contraction of com a.

Preposition

ca

1. (Brazil, colloquial) with

Adverb

ca (not comparable)

1. Obsolete spelling of cá.

Romagnol

Etymology

From Latin casa (“house”).

Pronunciation

• (Central Romagnol): IPA^(key): [ˈkaɐ̯]

Noun

ca f (invariable) (Ville Unite)

1. house

   Ca brușêda ― Uninhabited house

   Mètar so ca ― To get married

   Ësar dla ca ― To be a frequent visitor

   Fat in ca ― Homemade

   Tus da ca ― Leave home

2. lineage
3. public building

Romanian

Alternative forms

• ка (ca) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka/
• Rhymes: -a

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin quam. The expression ca și may derive from Latin quasi.

Adverb

ca

1. than

   Am o carte mai bună ca aceasta. ― I have a better book than this one.

2. as

   Filmul este tot așa de interesant ca romanul. ― The movie is as interesting as the novel is.

Synonyms

• decât

Related terms

• cam

Etymology 2

From Latin quia.

Conjunction

ca

1. (obsolete) because

   Synonyms: pentru că, întrucât, fiindcă, deoarece

2. (followed by să) in order to

Romansch

Alternative forms

• che (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan)
• tgi (Surmiran)
• cu (Puter)
• co (Vallader)

Etymology

From Latin quam or quod.

Conjunction

ca

1. (Sutsilvan) than

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaː/, IPA^(key): /kɑː/

Verb

ca (third-person singular simple present cas, present participle cain, simple past ca'd, past participle ca'd)

1. call
2. summon
3. drive something
4. go on, proceed
5. knock or push

Derived terms

• ca canny

Contraction

ca

1. (some Scots dialects) can't

   That ca be him!

   That can't be him!

See also

• cannae

Southwestern Dinka

Noun

ca (plural caak)

1. milk

References

• Dinka-English Dictionary‎, 2005

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka/ [ˈka]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ca
• Homophone: ka

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin qua, alternative form of Latin quia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka/ [ˈka]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ca

Conjunction

ca

1. (obsolete) because

   Synonym: porque

   • c. 1325, Cantar de mío Cid‎:

     Sospiró mio Cid, ca mucho avié grandes cuidados

     My Cid sighed, for very great grief had he

Etymology 2

From ¡quia!.

Interjection

¡ca!

1. (Spain) Denotes incredulity or negation; oh no!

   Synonyms: ¡quia!, ¡qué va!

Etymology 3

Clipping of casa.

Noun

ca f (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) house

Further reading

• “ca”, 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

Swedish

Adverb

ca

1. circa; Abbreviation of cirka. Alternative form of c:a

Anagrams

• Ac

Tarantino

Pronoun

ca (relative)

1. to whom
2. to which

Adjective

ca

1. what

Tày

Pronunciation

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [kaː˦˥]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *kaːᴬ (“crow”), from onomatopoeic origin. Cognate with Lao ກາ (kā), Northern Thai ᨠᩣ, Lü ᦂᦱ (k̇aa), Shan ၵႃ (kǎa), Tai Nüa ᥐᥣ (kaa), Tai Dam ꪀꪱ, Zhuang roegga, Tày ca.

Noun

(Classifier: tua) ca (𱍼)

1. common raven

   Tua ca ơi.

   The crow cries.

   nả đăm bặng nả ca

   one's face as black as a crow's face

   Vằn ngoà tua ca pắt đảy sloong tua cáy ỉ.

   Yesterday, the crow caught two little chickens.

Derived terms

• ca nặm
• ca đáng
• ca đăm
• khẩu ca
• mèo ca
• pác ca
• xéc ca

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “เพกา?”)

Noun

(Classifier: mạy) ca

1. Oroxylum indicum

   co mạy ca ― foot of a midnight horror tree

   phắc ca ― fruit from a midnight horror tree

Derived terms

• mác ca

Etymology 3

Compare cà.

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Could be either ultimately from 個 but the tone doesn't really match, or less likely a reduced form of cáy (chicken), evidenced by "cáy cào" in Lương Bèn's dictionary being an alternative form of "ca cào".”

Classifier

ca

1. Precedes a different classifier to convey contempt towards the referrent

   ca tua ma ― this goddamn dog

Prefix

ca

1. Meaningless, occasionally intensifying prefix in mostly animal names as well as other nouns and adjectives, some of which have variants with cà

Derived terms

• ca cào
• ca lang
• ca linh
• ca mèo
• ca mả
• ca noóng
• ca này
• ca pát
• ca rạc
• ca rại
• ca rệp
• ca rộc
• ca tuyện
• ca đác

References

• Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎ (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Lục Văn Pảo, Hoàng Tuấn Nam (2003) Hoàng Triều Ân, editor, Từ điển chữ Nôm Tày [A Dictionary of (chữ) Nôm Tày]‎ (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Khoa học Xã hội
• Léopold Michel Cadière (1910) Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary]‎ (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [kaː˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French quart.

Noun

(classifier cái) ca

1. mug (cup)
2. mug (about 1/4 liter)

Etymology 2

Sino-Vietnamese word from 歌 (“song”).

Noun

(classifier bài) ca

1. (literary) song

Derived terms

• bi ca
• ca dao
• ca khúc
• ca kịch
• ca nhạc
• danh ca
• dân ca
• khải ca
• khải hoàn ca
• quân ca
• quốc ca
• Quốc tế ca
• thánh ca
• thi ca
• thơ ca
• tình ca
• trường ca
• trường hận ca

Verb

ca

1. (colloquial in Southern Vietnam, somewhat literary in other dialects) to sing

   Đăng kí ca ở đâu hả em?

   Where can I sign up to sing, boy?

2. (colloquial, ironic) to praise
3. (colloquial) to scold

Synonyms

• (to sing): hát
• (to praise): ca ngợi, ca tụng, ca vịnh

Derived terms

• bài ca
• ca cẩm
• ca hát
• ca kĩ
• ca lâu
• ca múa
• ca ngâm
• ca ngợi
• ca nhi
• ca nương
• ca sĩ
• ca tụng
• ca từ
• ca vịnh
• ca vũ
• ca vũ kịch
• ca xướng
• cầm ca
• đờn ca tài tử
• kêu ca
• ngợi ca
• quản ca
• sênh ca
• sơn ca
• triều ca

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French cas.

Noun

ca

1. (medicine) case

   Ca này nặng đấy!

   This case is a serious one!

   Đã có 5 ca tử vong.

   There have been five fatal cases.

Synonyms

• (case): trường hợp

Derived terms

• ca mổ

Etymology 4

From French quart. Compare Thai กะ (gà, “shift”).

Noun

ca

1. shift (change of workers)

   tan ca ― to finish one's shift

Derived terms

• giao ca

Etymology 5

Borrowed from French ka.

Noun

ca

1. The name of the Latin-script letter K/k.

Etymology 6

Preposition

ca • (𰙔)

1. (archaic) at, in
2. (archaic) place

Welsh

Alternative forms

• (first-person singular future): caf (literary)
• (second-person singular imperative): cei, cymer (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaː/

Verb

ca

1. inflection of cael:
   1. first-person singular future colloquial
   2. second-person singular imperative literary

Mutation

Mutated forms of ca

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
ca	ga	ngha	cha

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.