buwae

Marshallese

Pronunciation

• (phonetics) IPA^(key): [pˠuwɑːe], (enunciated) [pˠuwɑ e]
• (phonemic) IPA^(key): /pˠiwæɰjej/
• Bender phonemes: {biwahyȩy}

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English buoy.

Noun

buwae (alienable, nautical)

1. buoy

   Kab jitōņ ļo̧k wōt kōtaan buwae kākaņ.

   Aim for those buoys over there.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English boy. Doublet of boea and kaubowe.

Noun

buwae (construct buwaein) (alienable)

1. waiter/waitress, server (at a restaurant)

   Ej buwae ilo m̧ōn m̧ōņā eņ.

   He's a waiter at the restaurant.

2. servant
3. cabin boy (on a boat)

   Ņa iba inaaj buwae bajjek im ānen ilo iien rot eņ eļap dān i lowa.

   I said I would just be the cabin boy and bail at times when there was a lot of water in the boat.

Verb

buwae (intransitive)

1. to serve (as a waiter/waitress)

   Kwōn buwaeļo̧k ņan rūm̧ōņā raņ.

   Serve the diners.

References

• Abo, Takaji; Bender Byron W.; Capelle, Alfred; DeBrum, Tony (2009–), “buwae”, in Marshallese–English Online Dictionary‎^[1]