ea

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ea"

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English ee, ea, æ, from Old English ēa (“river”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahu (“waters, river”), from Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”). Compare English aqua.

Cognates

Cognate with North Frisian ia (“river”), Saterland Frisian Äi (“river”), West Frisian ie (“water, stream”), Dutch a (“water, stream”), German Ache (“water, stream, river, flood”), Danish å (“stream, creek”), Swedish å (“stream, creek”), Icelandic á (“stream, river”), Latin aqua (“water”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈiː(ə)/
• Rhymes: -iː, -iːə

Noun

ea (plural eas)

1. (UK dialect or archaic) A river or watercourse.
   • 1866, Charles Kingsley, Hereward the Wake: Last of the English:

     And they rowed away for Crowland, by many a mere and many an ea; through narrow reaches of clear brown glassy water; between the dark-green alders; between the pale-green reeds; where the coot clanked, and the bittern boomed, and the sedge-bird, not content with its own sweet song, mocked the song of all the birds around; and then out into the broad lagoons, where hung motionless, high overhead, hawk beyond hawk, buzzard beyond buzzard, kite beyond kite, as far as eye could see.

Derived terms

• eddy

Related terms

• Eau
• eau
• yeo

Etymology 2

Abbreviation.

Determiner

ea

1. Alternative form of ea.

References

• “ea”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Anagrams

• -ae, -æ, A & E, A&E, AE, a**e, a.e., ae, æ

Äiwoo

Adjective

ea

1. bad, evil

References

• Næss, Åshild (2017), “ea”, in A short dictionary of Äiwoo (Studies in the Languages of Island Melanesia; A-PL 35)‎^[1], Canberra, ACT: Asia-Pacific Linguistics, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, page 31
• Ross, Malcolm; Næss, Åshild (December 2007), “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics‎^[2], volume 46, number 2, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, →DOI, pages 456–98

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• ia

Etymology

From Latin illa, feminine of ille. Compare Romanian ea.

Pronoun

ea f (plural eali)

1. (third-person feminine singular pronoun, nominative form) she

Synonyms

• nãsã/nãsa

Pronoun

ea f

1. (long/stressed accusative form) her

See also

Aromanian personal pronouns

number	person		nominative	accusative	dative	accusative	dative
				stressed		unstressed
singular
	1st		iou	mini	mie	mi	nji
	2nd		tu	tini	tsãie	ti	tsã
	3rd	m	el / nãs	el	lui	ãl	ãlj
		f	ea / nãsã	ea	ljei	u
plural
	1st		noi	noi	noauã	nã
	2nd		voi	voi	voauã	vã
	3rd	m	elj / nãsh	elj	lor	ãlj	lã
		f	eali / nãsi	eali		li

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ea/ [e.a]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ea, -a
• Hyphenation: e‧a

Particle

ea

1. Used in indirect questions as an intensifier.

   Ea nork egin dituen etxeko lanak. ― Let's see who has done the homework.

2. Used to express one's desire; I hope, I wish

   Ea azkar sendatzen zaren. ― I hope you get well soon.

Usage notes

• When using this particle, the verb takes the conjunction -n.

Further reading

• “ea”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “ea”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Cornish

Alternative forms

• ya (Revived Late Cornish)

Determiner

ea

1. yes

Usage notes

• Very rare as Cornish grammar does not usually allow for yes/no answers to questions, instead repeating the verb.

References

• “ea” in Cornish Dictionary / Gerlyver Kernewek, Akademi Kernewek.

Estonian

Noun

ea

1. genitive singular of iga

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *eqa (“come to the surface”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe.a/, [ˈɛ.jə]

Noun

ea

1. sovereignty, rule
2. air, breath
3. gas, vapor, fumes
4. life, life force

Derived terms

• eaea (“breath”)
• eaolamāmā (“oxygen”)
• Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (“Sovereignty Restoration Day”)

Verb

ea(intransitive)

1. to rise, to go up
2. to smell

Derived terms

• aea (“rise up”, verb)
• eaea (“reduplicated form”)
• eʻea (partially reduplicated form)
• hōʻea (causative)
• maea (“rise to the surface”)

References

• Pukui, Mary Kawena; Elbert, Samuel H. (1986), “ea”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, →ISBN
• Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “EQA.A”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551–9

Irish

Alternative forms

• eadh (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Irish ed (“it”). Ultimately akin to English it, Latin id, etc.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a/, (after ba) /ja/

Pronoun

ea

1. it

Usage notes

• Only used with the copula, in constructions that do not reference any noun.

Derived terms

• mar ea
• ní hea
• sea

See also

Irish personal pronouns

	person		conjunctive (emphatic)	disjunctive (emphatic)	possessive determiner
singular	first		mé (mise)		mo L m' before vowel sounds
	second		tú (tusa)1	thú (thusa)	do L d' before vowel sounds
	third	m	sé (seisean)	é (eisean)	a L
		f	sí (sise)	í (ise)	a H
		n	—	ea	—
plural	first		muid, sinn (muidne, muide), (sinne)		ár E
	second		sibh (sibhse)1		bhur E
	third		siad (siadsan)	iad (iadsan)	a E

^L Triggers lenition   ^E Triggers eclipsis   ^H Triggers h-prothesis

¹ Also used as the vocative

The reflexive is formed by adding féin to the relevant pronoun.
For instance, "myself" = mé féin, "yourselves" = sibh féin.

Japanese

Romanization

ea

1. Rōmaji transcription of エア

Korean

Alternative forms

• 개 (gae), and other unitary bound nouns (권, 자루, 켤레, etc)

Etymology

From English ea. (“whole piece”).

Symbol

ea • (ea)

1. symbol of 개 (gae, “item, piece, general counter for objects”).

   총 10ea.

   5ea 정도.

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *íh₂.

Pronunciation

• ea:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈe.a]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.a]
• eā:
  • (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈe.aː]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.a]

Pronoun

ea

1. nominative feminine singular of is: "she", "it" (referring to feminine nouns), or demonstratively (as a demonstrative pronoun) "this", "that" (likewise referring to feminine nouns)
2. nominative neuter plural of is: "they (things)"
3. accusative neuter plural of is: "them (things)"

Pronoun

eā f

1. ablative feminine singular of is

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	ea	eae
genitive	eius ejus	eārum
dative	eī ēī eae	eīs eābus iīs īs
accusative	eam	eās
ablative	eā	eīs eābus iīs īs
vocative	ea	eae

See also

Latin personal and reflexive pronouns

		singular							plural
		first	second	third			reflexive		first	second	third			reflexive
				m	f	n					m	f	n
nominative		egō̆	tū	is	ea	id	—		nōs	vōs	eī iī	eae	ea	—
genitive	objective	meī mīs1	tuī tīs1	eius			suī		nostrī	vestrī vostrī1	eōrum eum	eārum	eōrum eum	suī
	partitive								nostrum	vestrum vostrum1
dative		mihī̆ mī	tibī̆	eī			sibī̆		nōbīs	vōbīs	eīs			sibī̆
accusative		mē mēmē2+3 mēd1	tē tētē2+3 tēd1	eum	eam	id	sē sēsē2		nōs	vōs	eōs	eās	ea	sē sēsē2
ablative		mē mēmē2+3 mēd1	tē tētē2+3 tēd1	eō	eā	eō	sē sēsē2		nōbīs	vōbīs	eīs			sē sēsē2
vocative		egō̆	tū	—					nōs	vōs	—

1. Pre-classical.
2. Emphatic.
3. Rare.

Etymology 2

Declined from is. It stands as if for eā viā ("this/that way"). Compare eō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈe.aː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.a]

Adverb

eā (not comparable)

1. there
2. that way
3. on that side

Derived terms

• eāpropter
• eātenus

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative or basic relative	indefinite							alternative
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	irrelative	free choice	universal	positive polarity	negative polarity	negative
basic	hic	iste istic	ille illic	is	ᵉipse īdem	quis quī	quīcumque quisquis	quīdam aliquis, quis aliquī, quī nesciō quis	quīvis quīlibet	quisque	quispiam	quisquam hīlum ūllus	nēmō̆ nihil nūllus	alius
ᵇcomparative	huiusmodī ᵉhuiuscemodī	istī̆usmodī ᵉistī̆uscemodī	illī̆usmodī ᵉillī̆uscemodī	eiusmodī	eiusdemmodī	cuiusmodī	cuiusmodīcumque	alicuiusmodī cuiusdammodī	cuiusvīsmodī	cuiusquemodī			°nūllī̆usmodī	alterī̆usmodī alīusmodī
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs uterlibet	uterque			neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubī̆cumque °ubiubī̆	alicubī̆	ubivīs ubilibet	ubīque	uspiam	usquam °ubīquam	nusquam nūllibī	alibī aliās
source	hinc	istinc °istim	illinc °illim	inde ªim	indidem	unde °cum	undecumque °undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique		°undiquam	°nūllunde	aliunde
destination	hūc hōc °hōrsum	istūc istō, istōc °istōrsum	illūc illō, illōc °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō quōrsum	quōcumque quōquō °quōrsumcumque	aliquō °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs quōlibet	quōque	quōpiam uspiam	usquam quōquam ªūllō	nusquam ªnihilō ªnūllō °nūllōrsum	aliō aliōrsum
means, way, path, place	hāc	ªistā istāc	ªillā illāc	eā	eādem	quā quārē	quācumque quāquā	aliquā	quāvīs quālibet	°quāque	°quāpiam	°quāquam ªūllā	nēquāquam ªnūllā ᵉhaudquāquam	aliā
ᵇdistance	hāctenus	°istātenus °istāctenus	°illātenus °illāctenus	eātenus		quātenus	°quātenuscumque °quāquātenus	aliquātenus quādantenus	°quātenusvīs °quātenuslibet			ūllātenus	nūllātenus	aliātenus
ᵇreason	°hācpropter °hōccircā	°istāpropter	°illāpropter	eāpropter proptereā eōcircā idcircō ideō		ᶜcūr quāpropter quōcircā quārē †quia								°aliāpropter
ᵇmanner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita ᵉsīc eō modō	item itidem eādem operā eōdem modō	ut prout °quem quō modō quōmodo ᵉquemadmodum	utcumque °utut °proutcumque quōmodocumque °ᵉquemadmodumcumque	quōdam modō aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque quōque modō	quōpiam modō	°utiquam ūllō modō	nihil neutiquam °neutī̆que nūllō modō	aliter alterō/aliō modō
instrument, matter, knowledge						quī ᵉquīn °quīcum	quīcumque	quī °aliquī	°quīlibet	°quīque	°quia	°quīquam	nihilō nēquīquam	aliōquī ᵉaliōquīn
time	†num nunc		ōlim	tum tunc	simul	quandō̆ ‡cum	quandōcumque quandōque cumque °quandōnē °ᵉquandōquandō °cumcumque	quondam aliquandō̆	°quandōlibet	quandōque	†quoniam	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen †tandem	quam	quamcumque †quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs quamlibet	quamque
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque quantusquantus	aliquantus	quantusvīs quantuslibet	quantusque
quality				tālis		quālis	quāliscumque quālisquālis	aliquālis	quālislibet	quālisque
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order/fractional				totus		quotus	°quotuscumque	°aliquotus	°quotuslibet	°quotusque °quotusquisque
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet	quotiēnsque °quotiēnsquisque			°nūllotiēns
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat changed ° Rare ‡ Only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative. ª Used almost exclusively to form locutions or compounds. ᵇ All locutions ending in modī, modō, propter, circā or tenus can be univerbalized and vice versa, except de, secus and if another suffix, such as -cumque, -que or -libet, follows them, quemadmodum can also come as a locution in "quem ad modum", quārē can even also come separately especially if accompanied by a preposition, such as dē. ᶜ Used purely and simply as an interrogative in direct questions (then irrelative), its relative meaning is somewhat lost, if it ever had one. ᵉemphatic

References

• “ea”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ea”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ea”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[3], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae terra gignit
    
  • the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae e terra gignuntur
    
  • the vegetable kingdom: ea, quae a terra stirpibus continentur
    
  • the vegetable kingdom: ea quorum stirpes terra continentur (N. D. 2. 10. 26)
    
  • eastern, western Germany: Germania quae or Germaniae ea pars quae, ad orientem, occidentem vergit
    
  • to be of such and such an age: ea aetate, id aetatis esse
    
  • this is our natural tendency, our destiny; nature compels us: ita (ea lege, ea condicione) nati sumus
    
  • all depends on this; this is the decisive point: in ea re omnia vertuntur
    
  • with the intention of..: eo consilio, ea mente, ut
    
  • on condition of..: ea lege, ut
    
  • what is your opinion: quid de ea re fieri placet?
    
  • (ambiguous) I blame this in you; I censure you for this: hoc in te reprehendo (not ob eam rem)
    
  • (ambiguous) to happen to think of..: in eam cogitationem incidere
    
  • (ambiguous) to induce a person to think that..: aliquem ad eam cogitationem adducere ut
    
  • (ambiguous) to discuss a subject more fully on the same lines: plura in eam sententiam disputare
    
  • (ambiguous) peace is concluded on condition that..: pax convenit in eam condicionem, ut...
    
• Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, 1st edition. (Oxford University Press)

Lindu

Adjective

ea

1. shy; ashamed

Middle English

Noun

ea

1. (Early Middle English) alternative form of ee

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æ͜ɑː/
• Rhymes: -æ͜ɑː

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *ahu, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water”).

Alternative forms

• ǣ
• *ēo

Noun

ēa f (nominative plural ēa or ēan)

1. river
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Þonne west fram Tigris þǣre ēa oþ Eufrate þā ēa, þonne betweox þǣm ēan syndon þās land Babylonia, and Caldea, and Mesopotamia.

     Then west from the River Tigris to the River Euphrates, then between the rivers are the lands of Babylon, Chaldea, and Mesopotamia

2. running water, stream

Usage notes

• Regarding declension, ēa is usually indeclinable, but occasionally inflected forms are encountered.

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	ēa	ēa, ēan
accusative	ēa	ēa, ēan
genitive	ēa, īe	ēa
dative	ēa, īe	ēam, ēaum, ēauum, ēum

Derived terms

• ǣspring
• ǣwielm
• ēadocce
• ēafisċ
• ēarisċ
• ēastrēam
• Ēaþrȳþ
• Ēawynn
• ēawyrt
• Hagustaldesēa

Descendants

• Middle English: ee, æ, ea, eaa (Early Middle English), *eo
  • English: ea, Eau, eau, yeo
• ⇒ Old English: edēa (with prefix ed-)
  • Middle English: eddy
    • English: eddy

See also

• gārseċġ (“ocean”)
• mere (“lake”)
• sǣ (“sea”)
• strēam (“stream”)

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Perhaps from earlier *eah, *æh, from Proto-West Germanic *a, *ah (“ah”), related to Old High German a, ah (“ah”). Alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *au, cognate with Old High German au, ō (“oh, ah”).

Alternative forms

• ēaw, ǣa, ǣ, ē, *hē, hiġ

Interjection

ēa

1. oh, alas

Derived terms

• ēalā

Descendants

• >? Middle English: a, aa, ah
  • English: ah
  • Scots: ah

Romanian

Alternative forms

• я (ia) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling
• éa — pre-1904 spelling reform

Etymology

Inherited from Latin illa, feminine of ille.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ja/, (hypercorrect) /e̯a/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Homophone: ia

Pronoun

ea f (third-person singular, plural ele, masculine equivalent el)

1. (nominative form) she

   Synonym: (polite form) dumneaei

Declension

Declension of ea

	stressed	unstressed
nominative	ea
accusative	ea	o
dative	ei	îi
genitive	ei
possessive forms
	singular	plural
masculine	său	săi
neuter		sale
feminine	sa
reflexive forms
	stressed	unstressed
accusative	sine	se
dative	sieși	își

Pronoun

ea f (stressed accusative form of ea)

1. (direct object, preceded by preposition, such as "pe", "cu", "la", or "pentru") her

Related terms

• el (third-person masculine singular)
• ei (third-person masculine plural)
• ele (third-person feminine plural)

See also

Romanian personal pronouns

number	person		nominative	accusative	dative	accusative	dative
				stressed		unstressed
singular
	1st		eu	mine	mie	mă	îmi
	2nd		tu, dumneata1, dumneavoastră2	tine, dumneata1, dumneavoastră2	ție, dumitale1, dumneavoastră2	te, vă2	îți, vă2
	3rd	m	el, dumnealui2	e, dumnealui2	lui, dumnealui2	îl	îi
		f	ea, dumneaei2		ei, dumneaei2	o
plural
	1st		noi		nouă	ne
	2nd		voi, dumneavoastră2		vouă, dumneavoastră2	vă
	3rd	m	ei, dumnealor2		lor, dumnealor2	îi	le
		f	ele, dumnealor2			le

¹ Semi-polite.
² Polite.

References

• “ea”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Romansh

Alternative forms

• gea (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan, Surmiran)
• gie (Sursilvan)
• schi (Puter, Vallader)

Adverb

ea

1. (Sutsilvan, Surmiran) yes (used to indicate agreement with a positive statement)

Related terms

• (Sutsilvan) bagn
• (Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader) bain
• (Puter, Vallader) bainschi, hei, bainschi hei
• (Sursilvan) bein
• (Surmiran) gea bagn
• (Vallader) hai, bainschi hai

Spanish

Etymology

Derived from Latin ēia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈea/ [ˈe.a]
• Rhymes: -ea
• Syllabification: e‧a

Interjection

¡ea!

1. come on!, come now! (expressing encouragement)
2. so, and so, now (expressing resolution, preceding a willful resolution)

Further reading

• “ea”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Clipping of eabab, which is a backslang of babae.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔeʔa/ [ˈʔɛː.ʔɐ]
• Rhymes: -eʔa
• Syllabification: e‧a

Noun

ea (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜀ) (slang)

1. synonym of babae
   • 2025, WAIIAN feat. Nicole Anjela, “SOFTIE”, in BACKSHOTS:

     Sobrang bait niyan ni Pablo, baka sa'kin pa mag-open up ang ea mo.

     Pablo is too nice, maybe your gal would even open up to me.

See also

• eka

West Frisian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪə̯/

Adverb

ea

1. (literary) ever, at any time

Further reading

• “ea”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011