ab

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ab"

Languages (37)

Translingual • English

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Abkhaz or Russian абха́зский (abxázskij).

Symbol

ab

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

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Abkhaz terms

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æb/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æb
• Homophones: abb, Ab

Etymology 1

Abs

Noun

ab (plural abs)

1. (informal) Clipping of abdominal muscle [mid 20^th century].
   • 2006, H. Peter Steeves, The Things Themselves, page 75:

     The bikinied models in most of the ESPN2 shows have abs. Many of the malnourished bikinied models in the commercials have visible rib cages. How did the two get conflated into a shared vision of beauty?

   • 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.

Derived terms

• ab roller
• ab roller wheel
• ab wheel

Translations

abdominal muscle

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 腹肌 (zh) (fùjī)

• Esperanto: ventromuskolo
• Finnish: vatsalihas (fi)
• French: abdo (fr) m
• German: Bauchmuskeln (de) m pl
• Japanese: 腹筋 (ja) (ふっきん, fukkin)
• Korean: 아브 (abeu)
• Polish: mięsień prosty brzucha m
• Russian: пресс (ru) m (press)
• Vietnamese: múi (vi), múi cơ, cơ bụng

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of abscess.

Noun

ab (plural abs)

1. (slang) An abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug, usually heroin.

Translations

an abscess caused by injecting an illegal drug

Etymology 3

Abbreviations.

Verb

ab (third-person singular simple present abs, present participle abbing, simple past and past participle abbed)

1. (climbing, informal) To abseil.
   • 1998, Climbing, numbers 178-180, page 22:

     I had a climbing rope in my pack, set up an abseil with it, and abbed down to him.

2. Abbreviation of abort.

Noun

ab

1. Abbreviation of abortion.

Preposition

ab

2. Abbreviation of about.

   Alternative form: abt

Adverb

ab

1. 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)

1. (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'

Äynu

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian آب (âb).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑb/

Noun

ab

1. water

References

• Otto Ladstätter, Andreas Tietze, Die Abdal (Äynu) in Xinjiang (1994)

Azerbaijani

Other scripts

Cyrillic		аб
Arabic		آب

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep-der.

Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hā́ps

Proto-Iranian *Hā́fš

Old Persian 𐎠𐎱𐎡𐎹𐎠 (a-p-i-y-a)

Middle Persian ʾp̄

Classical Persian آب (āb)bor.

Azerbaijani ab

Borrowed from Classical Persian آب (āb).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑb]

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Noun

ab (definite accusative abı, plural ablar)

1. (Classical Azerbaijani) water

   Synonym: su

Declension

Declension of ab

	singular	plural
nominative	ab	ablar
definite accusative	abı	abları
dative	aba	ablara
locative	abda	ablarda
ablative	abdan	ablardan
definite genitive	abın	abların

Possessive forms of ab

	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abım	ablarım
sənin (“your”)	abın	abların
onun (“his/her/its”)	abı	abları
bizim (“our”)	abımız	ablarımız
sizin (“your”)	abınız	ablarınız
onların (“their”)	abı or abları	abları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abımı	ablarımı
sənin (“your”)	abını	ablarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	abını	ablarını
bizim (“our”)	abımızı	ablarımızı
sizin (“your”)	abınızı	ablarınızı
onların (“their”)	abını or ablarını	ablarını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abıma	ablarıma
sənin (“your”)	abına	ablarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	abına	ablarına
bizim (“our”)	abımıza	ablarımıza
sizin (“your”)	abınıza	ablarınıza
onların (“their”)	abına or ablarına	ablarına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abımda	ablarımda
sənin (“your”)	abında	ablarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	abında	ablarında
bizim (“our”)	abımızda	ablarımızda
sizin (“your”)	abınızda	ablarınızda
onların (“their”)	abında or ablarında	ablarında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abımdan	ablarımdan
sənin (“your”)	abından	ablarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	abından	ablarından
bizim (“our”)	abımızdan	ablarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	abınızdan	ablarınızdan
onların (“their”)	abından or ablarından	ablarından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	abımın	ablarımın
sənin (“your”)	abının	ablarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	abının	ablarının
bizim (“our”)	abımızın	ablarımızın
sizin (“your”)	abınızın	ablarınızın
onların (“their”)	abının or ablarının	ablarının

Derived terms

• ab-hava
• abı

Further reading

• Orucov, Əliheydər, editor (2006), “ab”, in Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti [Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language]‎^[1] (in Azerbaijani), 2nd edition, volume 1, Baku: Şərq-Qərb, page 26

Bayot

Pronoun

ab

1. you (second person singular independent pronoun)

References

• 2025, Friederike Lüpke, The Oxford Guide to the Atlantic Languages of West Africa, page 25: lists these independent 2sg pronouns: Fogny aw, Banjal au, Gusilay au, Kasa au, Keerak aw, Kwaatay awe, Karon awe, Bayot ab
• 2010, Guillaume Segerer, Some Hypotheses About Possible Isolates within the Atlantic Branch of the Niger-Congo Phylum: lists these independent 2sg pronouns: Kwaatay awe, Fogny aw, Kasa au, Banjal au, Bayot ab

Blagar

Noun

ab

1. 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

1. obsolete form of amb

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian آب (āb / âb).

Noun

ab

1. water

   Synonyms: suv, su, bum-bum

Declension

Declension of ab

	singular	plural
nominative	ab	ablar
genitive	abnıñ	ablarnıñ
dative	abğa	ablarğa
accusative	abnı	ablarnı
locative	abda	ablarda
ablative	abdan	ablardan

References

• “ab”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Danish

Etymology 1

From Latin ab (“of, from”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab/, [ɑb̥]

Preposition

ab

1. ex (out of, sold from)
2. from (with the origin in time)

Etymology 2

See abe (“to ape, mimic”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːb/, [æːˀb̥]

Verb

ab

1. imperative of abe

Further reading

• “ab” in Den Danske Ordbog

East Central German

Particle

ab

1. (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

1. to take

   Ci ghudal kelese bu cini arasini xuulj' abqu.

   If you tell a lie I will skin you [take your skin].

German

Pronunciation

• (Germany) IPA^(key): /ap/, /ɑp/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• (Switzerland, Austria, Bavaria) 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 [with dative]

1. beginning at that time or location; from

   Ab heute verfügbar.

   Available from today.

Derived terms

• ab und zu

Descendants

• Norwegian Bokmål: ab

Etymology 2

From adverbial use of the prefix ab- in verbs such as abschlagen, abgehen etc. Compare English off.

Adjective

ab (indeclinable, predicative only)

1. (colloquial, predicative only) off, detached (not attached to anything anymore, having come off)

   Der Arm ist ab.

   The arm has been cut off.

   (literally, “is off”)

2. (nonstandard, attributive) off, detached (not attached to anything anymore, having come off)

   Der abbe Arm ist verschwunden.

   The cut-off arm has disappeared.

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

   Ab in...!

   Off to...!

   Ab in den Süden!

   Off to the south! / To the south we go!

   Ab in den Keller mit dir!

   Down to the basement with you!

Usage notes

• The predicative use is common in colloquial German throughout the country.
• The nonstandard 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”).

Positive forms of ab (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist ab	sie ist ab	es ist ab	sie sind ab
strong declension (without article)	nominative	abber1	abbe1	abbes1	abbe1
	genitive	abben1	abber1	abben1	abber1
	dative	abbem1	abber1	abbem1	abben1
	accusative	abben1	abbe1	abbes1	abbe1
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der abbe1	die abbe1	das abbe1	die abben1
	genitive	des abben1	der abben1	des abben1	der abben1
	dative	dem abben1	der abben1	dem abben1	den abben1
	accusative	den abben1	die abbe1	das abbe1	die abben1
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein abber1	eine abbe1	ein abbes1	(keine) abben1
	genitive	eines abben1	einer abben1	eines abben1	(keiner) abben1
	dative	einem abben1	einer abben1	einem abben1	(keinen) abben1
	accusative	einen abben1	eine abbe1	ein abbes1	(keine) abben1

¹Nonstandard.

• The inflected attributive forms retain the devoiced consonant. Hence, sometimes they are spelled with p, rather than b: appes Bein.

Declension

Indeclinable, predicative-only.

Related terms

• abseits

Further Reading

• “ab” in Duden online
• “ab” in Duden online
• “ab”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[2] (in German)
• “ab”, in Cambridge German–English Dictionary‎^[3]
• “ab” in Collins German–English Dictionary

Hamar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔáb/, [ʔáb̚]

Determiner

ab

1. alternative form of ábi

References

• Petrollino, Sara (2016), A Grammar of Hamar: A South Omotic language of Ethiopia‎^[4], Leiden University, page 297

Indonesian

Noun

ab (plural ab-ab)

1. small pot
2. (dated) father (aba)

Interlingua

Preposition

ab

1. 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)

1. (Christianity) abbot

   Coordinate terms: ban-ab, máthairab

Declension

Declension of ab (third declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative ab abaí vocative a ab a abaí genitive aba abaí dative ab abaí forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an t-ab na habaí genitive an aba na n-abaí dative leis an ab don ab leis na habaí

Derived terms

• mac an aba m (“ring finger”)
• tánaiste an aba m (“the next in rank to the abbot”)
• tiarna aba m (“lord abbot”)

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

1. alternative form of ba (used in relative clauses before a vowel sound)

   Fear maith ab ea é.

   He was a good man.

   buachaill ab áirde ná mo dheartháir ― a boy (who was) taller than my brother

Related terms

Irish copular forms

simple copular forms
present/future		affirmative	negative	interrogative	negative interrogative
main clause		is	ní	an	nach, náchd
relative clause	direct		nach, náchd	—
	indirect	ar, arbv
other subordinate clause		gur, gurbv		an	nach, náchd
past/conditional		affirmative	negative	interrogative	negative interrogative
main clause		ba, b’v	níor, níorbhv	ar, arbhv	nár, nárbhv
relative clause	direct	ba, abv	nár, nárbhv	—
	indirect	ar, arbhv
other subordinate clause		gur, gurbhv		ar, arbhv	nár, nárbhv
present subjunctive		affirmative	negative
—		gura, gurabv	nára, nárabv
compound copular forms
base word		present/future		past/conditional
cá		cár, cárbv		cár, cárbhv
cé		cér, cérbv		cér, cérbhv
dá		—		dá mba, dá mb’v
de/do		dar, darbv		dar, darbhv
faoi		faoinar, faoinarbv		faoinar, faoinarbhv
i		inar, inarbv		inar, inarbhv
le		lenar, lenarbv		lenar, lenarbhv
má		más		má ba, má b’v
mura		mura, murabv		murar, murarbhv
ó (preposition)		ónar, ónarbv		ónar, ónarbhv
ó (conjunction)		ós		ó ba, ó b’v
trí		trínar, trínarbv		trínar, trínarbhv

^v Used before vowel sounds ^d Dialectal

Mutation

Mutated forms of ab

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
ab	n-ab	hab	t-ab

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “ab”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla [Irish–English Dictionary], Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “ab”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “ab”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2026

Kein

Noun

ab

1. fire

Further reading

• Johannes A. Z'Graggen, The Madang-Adelbert Range Sub-Phylum (1975) (as ʌb)
• Bemal Organized Phonology Data (as ab)

K'iche'

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *ʔaabʼ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːɓ/

Noun

ab

1. hammock
2. steam
3. mist

References

• Christenson, Allen J. (2003), Kʼicheʼ-English dictionary and Guide to the pronunciation of the Kʼicheʼ-Maya alphabet‎^[5], Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, →OCLC, page 7

Latin

Alternative forms

• ā (not used before a vowel or h)
• abs (Old Latin, exclusively before the pronoun tē)
• af (Old Latin)
• dē ab (Late Latin)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Italic *ap

Latin ab

Inherited from Proto-Italic *ap, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó, from *h₂ep or *-o. The form ap- is attested in composition in Latin aperiō and Umbrian 𐌀𐌐𐌄𐌇𐌕𐌓𐌄 (apehtre).

Cognates

• English off
• English of
• English after
• Latin po-
• Ancient Greek ᾰ̓πό (ăpó)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈab]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈab]

Preposition

ab (+ ablative)

1. (indicating ablation): from, away from, out of
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.1:

     Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit.

     The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine separate them from the Belgae.

2. (indicating ablation): down from
3. (indicating agency): (source of action or event) by, by means of
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 7.4:

     Rex ab suis appellatur.

     The king is saluted by his men.

4. (indicating instrumentality): (source of action or event) by, by means of, with
   • 56 BCE, Cicero, Pro Sestio 42.92:

     Horum utro uti nolumus, altero est utendum. vim volumus exstingui, ius valeat necesse est, id est iudicia, quibus omne ius continetur; iudicia displicent aut nulla sunt, vis dominetur necesse est. hoc vident omnes: Milo et vidit et fecit, ut ius experiretur, vim depelleret. altero uti voluit, ut virtus audaciam vinceret; altero usus necessario est, ne virtus ab audacia vinceretur.

     ...so that virtue might not be overwhelmed by insolence.

   • 45 BCE, Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum 1.2:

     Quamquam philosophiae quidem vituperātōribus satis respōnsum est eō librō, quō ā nōbīs philosophia dēfēnsa et collaudāta est, cum esset accūsāta et vituperāta ab Hortēnsiō.

     Although indeed to the vituperators of philosophy an adequate response is in that book, in which philosophy has been defended and highly praised by us [me], when it had been accused and vituperated by Hortensius.

5. (indicating association): to, with
   • Ad, Rōmānōs IIX.XXX:

     ... Sī Deus ā nōbīs est, quis contrā nōs?

     ... If God is with us, who is against us?

6. (indicating location): at, on, in
7. (time) after, since

   Ab urbe conditā.

   From the founding of the City.

Usage notes

Used in conjunction with passive verbs to mark the agent.

• Liber ā discipulō aperītur.

  The book is opened by the student.

Derived terms

• ab ante
• ab oculīs

Related terms

• abhinc

Descendants

• French: à
• Italian: a
• Spanish: a
• Portuguese: a
• → Norwegian Bokmål: a, ab (learned)

Further reading

• “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.
• ab, in ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ [Logeion] Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese), University of Chicago, since 2011
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[6], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a gentle ascent: collis leniter ab infimo acclivis (opp. leniter a summo declivis)
    
  • the east winds are blowing: venti ab ortu solis flant
    
  • the Rhone[TR2] is the frontier between the Helvetii and the Sequani: Rhodanus Sequanos ab Helvetiis dividit
    
  • to be far from town: longe, procul abesse ab urbe
    
  • to devote every spare moment to...; to work without intermission at a thing: nullum tempus intermittere, quin (also ab opere, or ad opus)
    
  • in the fifth year from the founding of the city: anno ab urbe condita quinto
    
  • to be always at a person's side: ab alicuius latere non discedere
    
  • to turn one's gaze away from an object: oculos deicere, removere ab aliqua re
    
  • to trace one's descent from some one: originem ab aliquo trahere, ducere
    
  • a native of England: ortus ab Anglis or oriundus ex Anglis
    
  • from one's entry into civil life: ab ineunte (prima) aetate (De Or. 1. 21. 97)
    
  • to begin with a thing: initium capere; incipere ab aliqua re
    
  • to start from small beginnings: ab exiguis initiis proficisci
    
  • the motive, cause, is to be found in..: causa repetenda est ab aliqua re (not quaerenda)
    
  • to originate in, arise from: ab aliqua re proficisci
    
  • to rescue from destruction: ab exitio, ab interitu aliquem vindicare
    
  • to gain a person's esteem, friendship: gratiam inire ab aliquoor apud aliquem
    
  • to look favourably upon; to support: propenso animo, studio esse or propensa voluntate esse in aliquem (opp. averso animo esse ab aliquo)
    
  • to gain one's point with any one: aliquid ab aliquo impetrare
    
  • to win golden opinions from every one: maximam ab omnibus laudem adipisci
    
  • to have a good or bad reputation, be spoken well, ill of: bene, male audire (ab aliquo)
    
  • to use up, make full use of one's spare time: otio abūti or otium ad suum usum transferre
    
  • to draw away some one's attention from a thing: alicuius animum ab aliqua re abducere
    
  • to hold the same views: idem sentire (opp. dissentire ab aliquo)
    
  • to apply to a person for advice: consilium petere ab aliquo
    
  • to rescue from oblivion: aliquid ab oblivione vindicare
    
  • to be quite uncivilised: ab omni cultu et humanitate longe abesse (B. G. 1. 1. 3)
    
  • to be educated by some one: litteras discere ab aliquo
    
  • to receive instruction from some one: institui or erudiri ab aliquo
    
  • to derive an argument from a thing: argumentum ducere, sumere ex aliqua re or petere ab aliqua re
    
  • to disagree with a person: dissentire, dissidere ab or cum aliquo
    
  • to go back to the remote ages: repetere ab ultima (extrema, prisca) antiquitate (vetustate), ab heroicis temporibus
    
  • to have no taste for the fine arts: abhorrere ab artibus (opp. delectari artibus)
    
  • to go a long way back (in narrative): longe, alte (longius, altius) repetere (either absolute or ab aliqua re)
    
  • no sound passed his lips: nulla vox est ab eo audita
    
  • to extract an answer from some one: responsum ab aliquo ferre, auferre
    
  • to translate from Plato: ab or de (not ex) Platone vertere, convertere, transferre
    
  • to form, derive a word from... (used of the man who first creates the word): vocabulum, verbum, nomen ducere ab, ex...
    
  • the word amicitia comes from amare: nomen amicitiae (or simply amicitia) dicitur ab amando
    
  • to be separated by a deadly hatred: capitali odio dissidere ab aliquo (De Am. 1. 2)
    
  • to prevent some one from growing angry, appease his anger: animum alicuius ab iracundia revocare
    
  • to revenge oneself on some one: ulcisci aliquem, poenas expetere ab aliquo
    
  • to revenge oneself on another for a thing or on some one's behalf: poenas alicuius or alicuius rei repetere ab aliquo
    
  • to protect any one from wrong: ab iniuria aliquem defendere
    
  • to neglect one's duty: ab officio discedere
    
  • to neglect one's duty: de, ab officio decedere
    
  • to let oneself be perverted from one's duty: ab officio abduci, avocari
    
  • to have an inclination for a thing: propensum, proclivem esse ad aliquid (opp. alienum, aversum esse, abhorrere ab aliqua re)
    
  • the principles which I have followed since I came to man's estate: meae vitae rationes ab ineunte aetate susceptae (Imp. Pomp. 1. 1.)
    
  • to summon some one from the dead: aliquem ab inferis or a mortuis evocare, excitare (passive ab inferis exsistere)
    
  • to ask for an oracular response: oraculum petere (ab aliquo)
    
  • from beginning to end: ab ovo usque ad mala (proverb.)
    
  • the conversation began with..: sermo ortus est ab aliqua re
    
  • something has been left as a legacy by some one: hereditate aliquid relictum est ab aliquo
    
  • I have received a legacy from a person: hereditas ad me or mihi venit ab aliquo (Verr. 2. 1. 10)
    
  • to lend, borrow money at interest: pecuniam fenori (fenore) alicui dare, accipere ab aliquo
    
  • to borrow money from some one: pecuniam mutuari or sumere mutuam ab aliquo
    
  • to demand an account, an audit of a matter: rationem alicuius rei reposcere aliquem or ab aliquo
    
  • to demand an account, an audit of a matter: rationem ab aliquo reptere de aliqua re (Cluent. 37. 104)
    
  • to gain some one's favour: gratiam inire apud aliquem, ab aliquo (cf. sect. V. 12)
    
  • to be on a person's side (not ab alicuius partibus): ab (cum) aliquo stare (Brut. 79. 273)
    
  • to hold different views in politics: ab aliquo in re publica dissentire
    
  • to deliver some one from slavery: ab aliquo servitutem or servitutis iugum depellere
    
  • to exact a penalty from some one: poenam petere, repetere ab aliquo
    
  • to exact a penalty from some one: poenas expetere ab aliquo
    
  • to lay down arms: ab armis discedere (Phil. 11. 33)
    
  • to demand satisfaction, restitution: res repetere (ab aliquo) (Off. 1. 11. 36)
    
  • to gain a victory over the enemy: victoriam reportare ab hoste
    
  • putting aside, except: cum discessi, -eris, -eritis ab
    

Latvian

Conjunction

ab

1. (archaic) or

Synonyms

• vai

Preposition

ab

1. (archaic) around

Synonyms

• ap

Livonian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑˀb/, [ˈɑˀb̥]

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Compare dialectal Estonian abu (“shoulder”) (islands' dialect).

Noun

a’b

1. shoulder
   • 2012–2013, “ab”, in Tiit-Rein Viitso, Valts Ernštreits, editors, Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[7], Tartu, Riga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra:

     pǟ um abūd vaisõ sizzõl viedtõd

     recoiled, flinched

     (literally, “head is drawn in shoulders”)

Usage notes

LĒL also features a partitive plural form with -īdi as in the example abīdi nustõ "to shrug."

Declension

Declension of a’b (72)

	singular (ikšlu’g)	plural (pǟgiņlu’g)
nominative (nominatīv)	a’b	abūd
genitive (genitīv)	a’b	abūd
partitive (partitīv)	a’bbõ	a’bḑi
dative (datīv)	a’bbõn	abūdõn
instrumental (instrumentāl)	a’bkõks	abūdõks
illative (illatīv)	a’bbõ	a’bži
inessive (inesīv)	a’bsõ	a’bši
elative (elatīv)	a’bstõ	a’bšti

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *api.

Noun

a’b

1. help, aid, assistance

Declension

Declension of a’b (72)

	singular (ikšlu’g)	plural (pǟgiņlu’g)
nominative (nominatīv)	a’b	abūd
genitive (genitīv)	a’b	abūd
partitive (partitīv)	a’bbõ	a’bḑi
dative (datīv)	a’bbõn	abūdõn
instrumental (instrumentāl)	a’bkõks	abūdõks
illative (illatīv)	a’bbõ	a’bži
inessive (inesīv)	a’bsõ	a’bši
elative (elatīv)	a’bstõ	a’bšti

References

• Tiit-Rein Viitso; Valts Ernštreits (2012–2013), “a’b”, in Līvõkīel-ēstikīel-lețkīel sõnārōntõz [Livonian-Estonian-Latvian Dictionary]‎^[8] (in Estonian and Latvian), Tartu, Rīga: Tartu Ülikool, Latviešu valodas aģentūra

Middle Irish

Alternative forms

• aband, abann

Etymology

From Old Irish aub, from Proto-Celtic *abū.

Noun

ab f (genitive aba)

1. river

Descendants

• Irish: abha, abhainn
• Manx: awin
• Scottish Gaelic: abhainn

Mutation

Mutation of ab

radical	lenition	nasalization
ab (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	unchanged	n-ab

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑːb/

• Audio:

  (file)

• 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

1. (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

2. (economics, obsolete) as of

   ab mai

   as of May

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/

• Audio (modern):

  (file)

• Audio (older):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːbə, -eː
• Hyphenation: a‧b

Preposition

ab

1. 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

1. (colloquial) abbreviation of avbetaling (“installment”)
   • 1974, Kari Bakke, Gråspurven, page 22:

     møbler og vaskemaskin på AB

     furniture and washing machine on installments

Derived terms

• ab-kjøp
• ab-kontrakt

Related terms

• avbetale (“pay in installments”)

References

• “ab_1” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).
• “ab_2” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).
• “ab_3” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (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

1. (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

1. (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

1. of

Descendants

• German: ab
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ab

Old Occitan

Etymology

Reduced form of Latin apud

Preposition

ab

1. with
   • c. 1000, unknown, Lo Poèma de Boecis:

     Non comprarias ab mil liuras d’argent.

     [That] you couldn't buy with a thousand pounds of silver.

Descendants

• Occitan: amb
• Catalan: amb

Parauk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ap/

Verb

ab

1. to give, hand over.

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German ab, Dutch af, English off.

Preposition

ab

1. off
2. from
3. away

Pumpokol

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Yeniseian *obʌ (“father”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab/

Noun

ab (plural unknown)

1. father

Further reading

• Портфель Миллера in Russian state archives, foilo 199.
• Werner, Heinrich (2002), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der Jenissej-Sprachen, volume 2, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 50
• Werner, Heinrich K. (2005), Die Jenissej-Sprachen des 18. Jahrhunderts (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz KG, →ISBN, page 179

Scots

Alternative forms

• ob

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/, /ɔb/

Noun

ab (plural abs)

1. (Orkney) impediment, hindrance, objection.

Verb

ab (simple past abed)

1. (Orkney) to hinder

References

• “ab, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

Scottish Gaelic

Noun

ab m (genitive singular aba, nominative plural abachan)

1. alternative form of aba

Sumerian

Romanization

ab

1. romanization of 𒀊 (ab)
2. romanization of 𒀖 (ab)

Turkish

Alternative forms

• âb

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish آب (āb, “water”), from Classical Persian آب (āb).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ab (definite accusative abı, plural ablar)

1. (obsolete, poetic) water

Declension

Declension of ab

singular plural nominative ab ablar definite accusative abı abları dative aba ablara locative abda ablarda ablative abdan ablardan genitive abın abların Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular abım ablarım 2nd singular abın abların 3rd singular abı abları 1st plural abımız ablarımız 2nd plural abınız ablarınız 3rd plural abları abları definite accusative singular plural 1st singular abımı ablarımı 2nd singular abını ablarını 3rd singular abını ablarını 1st plural abımızı ablarımızı 2nd plural abınızı ablarınızı 3rd plural ablarını ablarını dative singular plural 1st singular abıma ablarıma 2nd singular abına ablarına 3rd singular abına ablarına 1st plural abımıza ablarımıza 2nd plural abınıza ablarınıza 3rd plural ablarına ablarına locative singular plural 1st singular abımda ablarımda 2nd singular abında ablarında 3rd singular abında ablarında 1st plural abımızda ablarımızda 2nd plural abınızda ablarınızda 3rd plural ablarında ablarında ablative singular plural 1st singular abımdan ablarımdan 2nd singular abından ablarından 3rd singular abından ablarından 1st plural abımızdan ablarımızdan 2nd plural abınızdan ablarınızdan 3rd plural ablarından ablarından genitive singular plural 1st singular abımın ablarımın 2nd singular abının ablarının 3rd singular abının ablarının 1st plural abımızın ablarımızın 2nd plural abınızın ablarınızın 3rd plural ablarının ablarının Predicative forms singular plural 1st singular abım ablarım 2nd singular absın ablarsın 3rd singular ab abdır ablar ablardır 1st plural abız ablarız 2nd plural absınız ablarsınız 3rd plural ablar ablardır

Derived terms

• abdest
• abıhayat
• abıkevser
• abırevan
• abuhava

References

• “ab”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from German aber (“but”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab/

Conjunction

ab

1. but.

Welsh

Etymology

From fab, soft mutation of mab (“son”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ab/

Prefix

ab

1. 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

1. a/an (singular indefinite article)

Usage notes

Precedes the noun.