wi

See also: Wi, WI, wi-, wi', w/i, .wi, wī, and Wī

Languages (36)

English

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Abinomn • Agutaynen • Ajië • Alemannic German • Caac • Cameroon Pidgin • Chaap Wuurong • Egyptian • Fijian • Folopa • Fyam • Haitian Creole • Iban • Jamaican Creole • Japanese • Kom (Cameroon) • Kumak • Mauritian Creole • Middle Dutch • Middle Low German • North Frisian • Old Dutch • Old Frisian • Old Saxon • Ottawa • Pnar • Scots • Seychellois Creole • Shuar • Sranan Tongo • Tocharian B • Vilamovian • West Makian • Yola • Yoruba

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /wɪ/
• Rhymes: -ɪ

Etymology 1

Variant of we.

Pronoun

wi (personal pronoun)

1. (Geordie) us

   Are yee commin with wi or not?

Etymology 2

Variant of with.

Preposition

wi

1. (Yorkshire) with

   Are-ta doin owt wi this?

Anagrams

• I.W.

Abinomn

Noun

wi

1. water
2. rain

Agutaynen

Etymology

From Proto-Kalamian *waʔi, *waʔikʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiiʔ/

Noun

wi

1. water

Further reading

• Ronald S. Himes, The Kalamian microgroup of Philippine languages, in the Tenth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics, 17-20 January 2006, Palawan, Philippines, (2006, Linguistic Society of the Philippines and SIL International), page 7
• Mga bitalang pangaldaw-kaldaw ,An Agutaynen-Filipino-English Phrasebook (2006, SIL Philippines)

Ajië

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [wi]

Noun

wi

1. man

References

• Leenhardt, M. (1935) Vocabulaire et grammaire de la langue Houaïlou, Paris: Institut d'ethnologie. Cited in: "Houaïlou" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
• Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "Ajiø" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

• Wii, Wi, Wy
• wii, wéin (Italian Walser)

Etymology

From Middle High German wīn, from Old High German wīn, from Proto-West Germanic *wīn, from Latin vīnum.

Noun

wi m

1. (Gressoney, Carcoforo, Rimella and Campello Monti) wine

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Caac

Verb

wi

1. to bite

References

• Claire Moyse-Faurie, Constructions expressing middle, reflexive and reciprocal situations in some Oceanic languages, in Reciprocals and Reflexives: Theoretical and Typological Explorations

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronoun

wi

1. Alternative spelling of we (“1st person plural subject and object personal pronoun”)

Determiner

wi

1. Alternative spelling of we (“1st person plural possessive determiner”)

Chaap Wuurong

Noun

wi

1. fire

References

• 1993, among the La Trobe working papers in linguistics, volumes 6-8, page 8:

  The Wimmera language and Tjapwurrung can be distinguished by the following criterial words:
  [English] Wimmera Tjapwurrung
  […]
  fire wanyap wi

  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Egyptian

Romanization

wi

1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of wj.

Fijian

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *wī; cognate with Samoan wī, Tongan vī and Hawaiian wī.

Noun

wi

1. ambarella, Spondias dulcis.

References

• Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “wii”, in POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online
• Gatty, Ronald (2009) “wi”, in Fijian-English Dictionary, Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 323

Folopa

Noun

wị

1. (Suri) water

Synonyms

• wẹị (Boro, Tebera)
• ipi (Sopese)

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Fyam

Noun

wi

1. sun

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French oui.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Adverb

wi

1. yes

Antonyms

• non

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *hui, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *quay, from Proto-Austronesian *quay (“rattan”). Cognate with Old Javanese hwi, Tagalog uway.

Noun

wi

1. rattan

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

Derived from English we. Compare Sranan Tongo wi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwiː/
• Hyphenation: wi

Pronoun

wi

1. we

   Wi cyaan tek it nuh more! ― We can't take it any more.

   • 2011, Richard Bingy Brown, Living the Dream (in English), →ISBN, page 58:

     “If de herbs wi get is good, dem will want lots more by next week […] ”

2. our

   Wi house a buil' a St. Catherine.

   Our new house is being built in St. Catherine.

   • 1986, Michael Parchment, My Freedom Voice, page 11:

     “All di nice time was fi dem,
     Dem tek wi black sista and use dem,
     Dem starve we di men,
     Wanting us not to be friend.
     Thinking we ago rebel against dem […] ”

     Only they enjoyed themselves,
     They took away our black sisters and used them,
     They starved us -- the men,
     They didn't want us to be friends.
     They thought we would rebel against them […]

3. us

   Dem see wi a mek it an' dem vex.

   They see us getting ahead and they're angry.

   • 2010, Dave Collymore, 平和と愛の詩的表現: Poetic Expressions of Peace and Love (in English), →ISBN, page 128:

     “(Weh mi seh) young people mek wi arise
     Mek wi trus God, pon him wi depen […] ”

     (What did I say?) Young people let us arise
     Let us trust God who we depend on […]

Related terms

• mi
• yuh
• im
• har
• shi
• unnu
• dem

Further reading

• Richard Allsopp, editor (1996), Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage, Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 594
• wi – jamaicans.com Jamaican Patois dictionary

Japanese

Romanization

wi

1. Rōmaji transcription of ゐ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ヰ
3. Rōmaji transcription of うぃ
4. Rōmaji transcription of ウィ

Kom (Cameroon)

Noun

wi (plural ghɨki)

1. woman, female
2. wife

References

• Randy Jones, Provisional Kom - English lexicon (2001, Yaoundé, Cameroon)

Kumak

Noun

wi

1. water

References

• I. Bril, Dictionnaire Nelemwa-Nixumwak (2000)

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French oui.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Adverb

wi

1. yes; a word used to indicate agreement or acceptance

Antonyms

• non

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch wī

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiː/

Pronoun

wi

1. we

Inflection

Middle Dutch personal pronouns

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd			1st	2nd	3rd
			masc.	fem.	neut.
nominative	ic	du	hi	si	het	wi	gi	si
accusative	mi	di	hem, hen	haer		ons	u	hem, hen
dative					hem, hen
genitive	mijn	dijn	sijn	haer	sijn	onse	uwe	haer

Descendants

• Dutch: wij

Further reading

• “wi”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “wi (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle Low German

Alternative forms

• wy

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wiː/
• (possibly, can't be discerned from written language) Stem vowel: ê⁴
  • IPA^(key): /wiə/, /wiɛ/

Etymology 1

From Old Saxon wī, from Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wiz.

Pronoun

wî

1. (personal, first person singular nominative) we

Declension

Middle Low German personal pronouns

		nominative	accusative	dative	genitive
1st person singular		ik (ek)	mî (mê, mik, mek)		mîn (mîner)
2nd person singular		dû	dî (dê, dik, dek)		dîn (dîner)
3rd person singular
	m	hê (hî, hie)	ēne, en (ȫne, ȫn)	ēme, em (ȫme, en)	sîn (sîner)
	n	it (et)
	f	sê (sî, sie, sü̂)		ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)
1st person plural		wî (wê, wie)	uns (ûs, ös, ü̂sik)		unser (ûser)
2nd person plural		gî (jê, î)	jû (jûwe, û, jük, gik)		jûwer (ûwer)
3rd person plural		sê (sî, sie)		em, öm, jüm (en, ēnen, ȫnen)	ēre, ēr (ērer, ȫrer)
For an explanation of the forms in brackets see here.

Descendants

• Dutch Low Saxon: wi
• German Low German: wi, wî

  Plautdietsch: wie

Etymology 2

From Old Saxon hwē or a dialectal variation thereof, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz.

Pronoun

wî

1. (interrogative) Alternative form of wê.

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian wī, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.

Pronoun

wi (Föhr-Amrum)

1. we (first-person plural personal pronoun)

Alternative forms

• 'f (reduced form)
• we (Mooring)
• wü (Sylt)

See also

Personal and possessive pronouns (Föhr-Amrum dialect)

		personal				possessive
		subject case		object case		masculine referent	feminine / neuter referent	plural referent
		full	reduced	full	reduced			attributive	independent
singular	1st	ik	'k	mi		man	min		minen
	2nd	dü	–	di		dan	din		dinen
	3rd m.	hi	'r	ham	'n	san	sin		sinen
	3rd f. / n.	hat	at, 't		at, 't
plural	1st	wi	'f	üs		üüs			üüsen
						üsens
	2nd	jam	'm	jam		jau			jauen
						jamens
	3rd	jo	's	jo	's	hör			hören
						hörens
notes		The reduced forms with an apostrophe are enclitic; they immediately follow verbs or conjunctions. Dü is deleted altogether in such contexts. At is not enclitic; it can stand in any unstressed position and refers mostly to things. In reflexive use, only full object forms occur. Dual forms wat / onk and jat / jonk are obsolete, as is feminine jü / hör. Independent possessives are distinguished from attributive ones only with plural referents. The forms üsens, jamens, hörens are used optionally (and decreasingly) when the possessor is a larger community, such as a village, city or nation.

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.

Pronoun

wī

1. we

Inflection

Old Dutch personal pronouns

1st person	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ik, ic, ih	wī, wīr
Accusative	mī, mik, *mic	uns, unsig
Genitive	mīn	unsa, *unser
Dative	mī	uns, unsig
2nd person	Singular	Plural
Nominative	thu, tu	gī, ir
Accusative	thī, thik, *thic	iu,
Genitive	thīn	iuwa, *iuwer
Dative	thī	iu

3rd person	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	hē, hie	sia	it
Accusative	imo	sia	it
Genitive	sīn, is	iro	is
Dative	imo	iro	imo
		Plural
Nominative		sia, sie (masc. plur.)
Accusative		sia, sie (masc. plur.)
Genitive		iro
Dative		im

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: wi
  • Dutch: wij

Further reading

• “wi”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

Old Frisian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.

Pronoun

wī

1. we

Inflection

Old Frisian personal pronoun declensions

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd m	3rd f	3rd n	1st	2nd	3rd
nominative	ik	thū	hī	hiū, hiō	hit	wī	jī	hiā
accusative	mī	thī	hine	hiā	hit	ūs	jū, jō	hiā
dative	mī	thī	him	hire, hiāre	him	ūs	jū, jō	him, hirem, hiārem
genitive	mīn	thīn	sīn	hire, hiāre	sīn	ūser	jūwer	hira, hiāra

Descendants

• North Frisian: wi, wü
• Saterland Frisian: wie
• West Frisian: wy

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wīz, from Proto-Indo-European *wéy.

Pronoun

wī

1. we

Declension

Old Saxon personal pronouns

Personal pronouns
Singular	1.	2.	3. m	3. f	3. n
Nominative	ik	thū	hē	siu	it
Accusative	mī, me, mik	thī, thik	ina	sia
Dative	mī	thī	imu	iru	it
Genitive	mīn	thīn	is	ira	is
Dual	1.	2.	-	-	-
Nominative	wit	git	-	-	-
Accusative	unk	ink	-	-	-
Dative
Genitive	unkero, unka	inker, inka	-	-	-
Plural	1.	2.	3. m	3. f	3. n
Nominative	wī, we	gī, ge	sia	sia	siu
Accusative	ūs, unsik	eu, iu, iuu
Dative	ūs		im
Genitive	ūser	euwar, iuwer, iuwar, iuwero, iuwera	iro

Descendants

• Middle Low German: wî, wy
  • Dutch Low Saxon: wi
  • German Low German: wi, wî

    Plautdietsch: wie

Ottawa

Pronoun

wi inan sg (plural niwi)

1. that

References

Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001) Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 123

Pnar

Pnar cardinal numbers

<  0	1	2  >
Cardinal : wi     Ordinal : nyngkong

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *wiː, likely from Proto-Mon-Khmer *muuj ~ *muəj ~ *muuɲ with the loss of initial *m-. Cognate with Khasi wei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Numeral

wi

1. (cardinal number) one

Scots

Preposition

wi

1. with

Alternative forms

• wi'

Seychellois Creole

Etymology

From French oui.

Interjection

wi

1. yes

Shuar

Pronoun

wi

1. I, first person singular

References

• Chicham: Dictionario Enciclopédico Shuar-Castellano

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English we. Compare Jamaican Creole wi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Pronoun

wi

1. we, us

Determiner

wi

1. our

Tocharian B

cardinal numbers

Previous:	ṣe
Next:	trai

Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare Tocharian A wu.

Numeral

wi m or f

1. two

Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Pronoun

wi

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

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wi/

Noun

wi

1. tooth

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[1], Pacific linguistics

Yola

Preposition

wi

1. Alternative form of wee (“with”)
   • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 32:

     A war cowdealeen wi ooree.

     They were scolding with one another.

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 6-7:

     wi vengem o' core t'gie oure zense o' ye gradès whilke be ee-dighte wi yer name;

     to pour forth from the strength of our hearts, our sense of the qualities which characterise your name,

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 114, lines 9-11:

     Yn ercha an aul o' while yt beeth wi gleezom o' core th' oure eyen dwytheth apan ye Vigere o'dicke Zouvereine, Wilyame ee Vourthe,

     In each and every condition it is with joy of heart that our eyes rest upon the representative of that Sovereign, William IV.,

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 6-8:

     Na oure gladès ana whilke we dellt wi' mattoke, an zing t'oure caulès wi plou,

     In our valleys where we were digging with the spade, or as we whistled to our horses in the plough,

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 9-10:

     Wi Irishmen owre generale hopes be ee-bond——

     With Irishmen our common hopes are inseparably bound up——

   • 1867, CONGRATULATORY ADDRESS IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 116, lines 12-14:

     shorne o'lournagh an ee-vilt wi benisons, an yerzel an oure gude Zovereine,

     free from melancholy and full of blessings, for yourself and our good Sovereign,

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 32

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wí/

Noun

wí

1. The name of the Latin-script letter W/w.

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) lẹ́tà; á, bí, dí, é, ẹ́, fí, gí, gbì, hí, í, jí, kí, lí, mí, ní, ó, ọ́, pí, rí, sí, ṣí, tí, ú, wí, yí

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• gwí

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wí/

Verb

wí

1. to say

   Synonyms: ní, sọ, fọ̀

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wī/

Verb

wi

1. (transitive) to throb

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wì/

Verb

wì

1. to singe; to scorch

   Synonyms: sun, yan

   Òòrẹ̀ ní ń ṣẹ́gi tí a ó fi wì í ― The porcupine gathers the wood with which we will singe it