PART I. 



Y O R U B A - E N G L I S H 



ABA 



a, a prefix, the primary use of which is to form con- 

 crete nouns from verbs. But the meaning of nouns 

 thus formed is various ; and accordingly they may 

 be classified as denoting : 



1 . The actor or agent ; as, asoro, a speaker, from 



soro, to speak ; adza, a dor/, lit. a fiyhter, 

 from dza, to fight. 



2. Tlie patient or recipient of an action ; as,' aba, 



that which is met, from ba, to meet : e. g. 

 ohui) aba, a thing which is met. 



3. The action itself; as, ab^, a coming, from hb, 



to come : e. g. ayni) ab6 mi di emefa loni, mi/ 

 goings and comings amount to six times to- 

 day. 



4. Tlie abstract quality implied in an intransitive 



verb ; as, abade, suitableness, from bade, to 

 fit ; aye, the state of being alive, from y^, 

 to live. 



& pron. he, she, it ; and, by contraction of awa and 

 awoi), %ve, they. It is much used in forming a sub- 

 stitute for the passive verb ; as, k lu mi, they struck 

 me, i. e. / loas struck. 



fi, an auxiliary particle equivalent to shall or will ; 

 as, erjyii) a 16h, ye toill go. 



a ! aa ! interj. oh ! ah ! alas ! 



ab, n. a contraction of abi, that which is or has any 

 tiling ; as, abeti (abi eti), that which has ears, 

 which is eared : c. g. fila abeti, a cap with ear- 

 flaps. 



ab, a-ba, a prefix formed of ' a ' and ba, to meet, and 

 occasionally of ' a ' and b;i, %oith, implying : 



1. Meeting with, or encountering ; as, abadzo 



(aba edzo), meeting with a difficulty or trotc- 

 ble. 



2. With or together ; as, abase (se, to do), co- 



operation, assistance ; abasili), a sleeping 

 together. 

 a-ba. See root ba. 



a-ba, n. a thinking of, expecting, expectation, hope : 

 alia ki li o i)da ? (^Iiope what is-it thoti art-making? ) 

 what do you hope for? 

 a-ba, n. an iron sta2>le ; stocks, consisting of a large 



staple driven into a log and enclosing the ankle. 

 a-ba, n. a species of wild fig-tree. 

 a-hk. See root ba. 

 a-b^, (ba), w. a mat of coarse grass : eni aba, o, »?ai 



of the grass aba. 

 §.-ba, n. a stack of corn, crib, barn, store. 

 a-bfi.-bu-dza, n. which surprises or thwarts, d~c. 



See abudza. 

 ^'-ba-da, f§.'-ba-da, adv. for ewr, used only after a 

 negative ; as, emi 6 se e mo fabada, / ivill never 

 do it again. 

 a-ba-de (bade), n. that which fits or is fitted ; sui- 

 tableness, adapteduess, congruity. 

 a-b5,-d6 (do), n. a camping together, a fellow en- 

 camper. 

 a-b§.-do (6do), n. a confluence of streams. 

 a-ba-dz§. (dza), n. a fighting together. 

 a-ba-dze (dze), n. an eating together. 

 a-ba-dze (l)adze), n. which spoils or is spoiled ; a 



kind of yam. 

 a-ba-dzo (edzo), n. a meeting with trouble or dif- 

 ficulty. As an inteijection, wo«c?e)/iw?.' shocking/ 

 a-ba-dzd (ba), n. a meeting, dr. ; greatly, ex- 

 tremely : 6 ba mi li abadzu, it fell upon me with 

 a great or grievous falling. 

 a-bS.-dzu (ba), n. an excessive plaiting, etc. 

 a-ba-fe, n. a medicinal tree. 



a-ba'-fil)-dze (ba ofii) dze), n. a law-breaker ; law- 

 breaking. 

 a-ba-fo (fo), n. a speaking together. 

 a-bfi.-g6-ke (goke), n. a going vp or ascmding 



toyelher. 

 a-ba'-kpa-de (kpade), n. a chance event, accident, 

 coincidence. 



