use singa with obungi.

okusinga.

he almost died, yali kumpi n'okufa, yabulako katono okufa, katono afe.

e- (li/ma) baby, very young child who is almost ready to walk.

o- (bu/-) quantity, amount; large quantity, abantu abasir.ga ebungi, the majority of people, most people. cf. -ngi(-yingi), yinga.

e- plur. amaliba (li /ma) skin; hide; cover (of a book or magazine). Lugaba yabuggyako eddiba. [t dawned. Dawn came, lit. God took the skin/covering off of (day, daytime, implied by -bu- = obudde). okufuna ekigulira Magala eddiba, to make money, get some money, get something profitable. Bwe batusiba mu ddiba erimu tuliyuza. We just do not get along. We are mutually incompatible, lit. if they tie us in one skin we will tear it open (an almost hopeless feat), cf. ^akaliba, ekiriba.

most frequently used in the inf. to intensify a preceding verb. Ayambala okuggweekerera. He dresses extremely well. Yayimba okuggweekerera. She sang magnificently.

for which see the grammars. One usage which presents serious difficulties to the users of the dictionary must be mentioned here. ka- is the prefix for singular nouns of the ka/bu class. This class contains not only nouns proper to it, but in addition most other nouns can be converted to this class; in the latter case the resultant noun is a diminutive. In many cases sound changes obscure the relationship between the original noun and the diminutive: ente, cow; akate, small cow. ejjinja, rock; akayinja, stone, endabirwamu, mirror; akalabirwamu, small mirror.

a-: okukuba akagogo, to stand firmly on one foot and move the other one backwards touching the ground with the toes (a disrespectful and insulting gesture mostly- employed by girls).

in rage, etc.); overwhelm; kill. Baamukanuliranga amaaso. They looked at him with wide-open eyes/in anger. Obusungu bwali bwagala kumukanula. Rage almost overwhelmed him. Okumubuuza ng'akanula maaso. On being questioned he could only stare vacantly. cf. -kanufu, obukanu, enkanu.

a- (ka/bu) a hundred million; an almost infinitely high number.

a- as an adv. a little, a little bit; slightly. Yatambulako katono. He walked a short distance (or a short time). After a neg. verb, n'akatono means not at all, not in the least. Simukkiriza n'akatono. I do not believe him at all. Before a verb in the subjunctive it means nearly, almost.

e- with the -a of rel. partly ripened (of fruit); not completely done (of food); light colored (of Africans), empafu ey'eki- bogwe, a partially ripened mpafu fruit. Abantu abasinga obungi mu bitundu bino balina obugunjufu bwa kibogwe. Most of the people in these areas have a defective/ poor culture.

e- (ki/bi) jargon/slang used mostly by the young, cf. dikya, oludikya.

e- (ki/bi) lit. that which is feared, honor, glory; prestige, dignity; respect; reverence; pomp. None of the preceding equivalents expresses the full meaning of kitiibwa which is perhaps the greatest ideal and the most sought after attribute of the Baganda. It has an importune e comparable to that of ‘face' in the Orient, kufa kitiibwa, to feel shame/be ashamed (because of the actions or speech of another). cf. tya.

e- (ki/bi) skull, cranium, n'eki- wanga katono kimuveeko olw'essanyu, and he became overcome by joy, lit. and (his) skull almost went away from him for joy. cf. oluwanga; ekiwalannanna.

e- adv. breathing one's last, on the point of death. Baamulaba ng'asigad- deko kiyiriitira. They found him unconscious/almost dead. cf. yiriitira.

employ (in the most general sense); employ (workers). okukozesa amaanyi, to use force (against opposition); to work with vigor.

o- adv. near, nearby; almost, nearly. followed by ne = near, close to. okumpi n'ennynmba ye, near his house. Kumpi kikakafu nti..., It is almost certain that... kumpimpi adv. rather near, quite close. cf. -mpi, wampi.

o- no plur. (lu/n) a jargon similar in principle to pig Latin (used mostly by children and young adolescents), cf. dikya, ekidikya.

o- marriage (of a woman). The word is used most often with an accompanying ordinal. olufumbirwa lwe olw'okusatu, her third marriage. cf. fumba, fumbirwa.

distinguished, renowned; clever; champion, expert; notorious, abayizzi lukulwe, great/highly skilled hunters, omubbi lukulwe, notorious thief.

o- (lu/n) the damaging/ruining of plantain trees by stripping off most of the leaves; the tendency to beat/bully other people. Alina olukuunya. Heisabully. cf. kuunya.

a- (li/ma) the place of the dead; the other world; hell, as an adv. emagombe. okukkirira emagombe, to die, lit. to go down to magombe. okusumattuka amagombe, to be sick and almost die.

a- (li/ma) formerly food presented to the Kabaka; wonderful thing, now used mostly as an attribute of another noun wonderful, magnificent, ebintu bingi eby'amakula, many wonderful things, mu- kazi makula, a gorgeous woman, cf. ekkula.

e- (n/h) dawn. Emmambya yali eri kumpi okusala. It was almost dawn, lit. dawn was near to cutting.

e- (n/n) described in previous dictionaries as: sternum, sternal cartilage; pit of the stomach; internal bodily part. It is now used almost always in a figurative sense: heart, soul, seat of the emotions. It occurs in hundreds of phrases and expressions of which the following is a sampling: mu ngeri ya kawanika mmeeme, in a frightening way. kwekuba mmeeme, to reconsider, emmeeme n'enfa, and my heart sank/I was utterly distressed. Nze emmeeme yangwa wala. I became very depressed. Otukubye wala emmeeme. You have really given us a scare. Emmeeme yamudda mu nteeko. He felt relieved, lit. his heart went back in place, ow'emmeeme etawaana amangu, one who is easily nauseated. Emmeeme entye- muse. 1 am terribly anxious/concerned/ shocked. Kino kyali ng'ekyawanula emmeeme ye. This seemed to relieve him/ calm him down. Emmeeme katale, ky'esiima ky'egula. (prov.) The heart is like going to market — it buys what it wants. Emmeeme gy'esula, ebigere gye bikeera. fprov.J Where the heart sleeps is where the feet- go in the morning, i.e., when you sleep with the intention of doing something, that is what you do. Emmeeme etefumba kigambo ekwo- geza munno ky'atagenda kwerabira. (prov.) lit. The heart which does not fashion well the spoken word makes you say what your friend will never forget. The spoken word can never be retracted.

in front; in the front seai.(»), in advance position, ebito eby'oku mwanjo mu Gavumenti, top positions in the Government, ekifo eky'oku manjo, the foremost place/position.

e- (n/n) kind of animal supposedly having very keen sight, kulaba nga ndabi, lit, see like an ndabi. Used mostly in sentenc es of the following pattern: Yandaba nga ndabi n'atandika okunvuma. The minute he saw me/as soon as I came he started to insult me.

use v., okutera; vide almost,

e- (n/n) colobus monkey. Ekika ky'Engeye, the Colobus Monkey Clan (one of the most ancient clans of B Uganda).

e- (n/n) huge elephant; something huge/monstrous; now most commonly walagi, a very strong liquor resembling gin.

e- (n/n) Kiganda ladder in the form of a tripod used for stripping barkcloth from the tree; (any) ladder. Twagwisa bwenyi nga nkandaggo. We met each other at such close quarters that we almost bumped into each other. Ebigambo byamala okulinnya ku nkandaggo. Matters had already reached a climax.

e- with the -a of rel. almost raw, not properly cooked, emmere ey'enkubuggu, food which is not thoroughly cooked.

keen-sighted. It is almost exclusively restricted to the following proverb: Embwa ya nnamaaso bw'etebba n'eyigga. When the keen-sighted dog is not stealing, it is hunting. Said of someone who can be either very good or very bad, depending on circumstances.

e- (n/n) upper branch of a tree; topmost branch of a tree. cf. essanso.

e- (n/n) native, original inhabitant, indigenous inhabitant, nzaalwa is mostly used as an attributive to another noun. Mwana nzaalwa y'e Budaaki. He is a native (son) of Germany, cf. zaala.

the highest mountain in Africa, abantu abasinga obungi, most people. Ekisinga togendayo. The best thing is for you not to go there. Additional examples: Asinze omusango. He has won his (court) case. Omusinze gumusinze. He has lost his case. Osinze. You are right. You have won ( said by one giving in after an argument). Akbsinga akukubya gw'olina. (prov.) He who excels you/is stronger than you beats you with (the stick, omuggo implied) which you have. Might makes right.

suitable. In its simple form saana is mostly used as an aux. verb denoting suitability, desirability or obligation corresponding to English should, ought, must. Osaana okulya obulungi. You should/ought to eat well.

e- (li/ma) topmost branch of a tree; upper branch of a tree. cf. akasanso, ensanso.

enkomerero.

komererayo waggulu.

etc. Yawonera watono okuttibwa. He missed being killed/was almost killed.

mpunye) v.i. smell, produce a smell/odor; stink, kuwunya bugobe, to seem to be certain of losing a game/a sporting competition, kuwunya lugendo, to be almost ready to depart, be on the point of departure, kuwunya luliroliro, to smell or look like one who has been working over a hot stove, kuwunya buwunyi ku mmere, to pick at one's food, eat only a little, kuwunyayo buwunyi or kuwunyamu buwunyi, to go to a place and leave soon, stay only for a short time. Era ye munnange mu nju yawunyamu buwunyi nga yeggyawo. And my friend just went into the house briefly and then went right out. Tewali mmotoka egi- wunyamu. There is no other car which is its equal. Obukulu bumuwunyako. Old age is creeping up on him.

as well as its pass, and caus. derivatives, are mostly used in association with olumbe, the ceremony of distributing the goods and installing the heir of the dec eased. At the end of the ceremony the period of mourning is terminated. Olumbe lwa Kasule lwayaba. The lumbe for Kasule was carried out/completed, yaba also means be very ill, be on the point of death. Nna- musanga ayaba. I found him very ill/on the point of death. okwaba inf.

mjagadde) v.tr. want, desire; love; like; as aux. be about to, be on the point of, (to) almost... Okutya kwaya- gala okun.Simla eddalu. Fear almost drove me mad. Enkuba eyagala kutonnya. It is likely to rain.

zingulula (zinguludde) v.tr. conv. 1 & 2 unwrap; unroll; untwist; unwind. Omwo nno nnaakazingulamu emyaka kumpi kku mi n'etaano. Here I had already spent almost fifteen years.

v.tr. be lost to. Ekitabo kimbuze. I have lost my book, lit. the book has become lost to me. obusungu ne bubula okumutta, and he became furious, lit. anger almost killed him. Akakiiko kaamaze ekiro kyonna nga kateesa, ne kabulako kye kamaliriza. The committee spent the whole night in discussion, but failed to reach a decision. Ebulayo eddakiika ttaano okuwera essaawa ettaano. It is five minutes to eleven, lit. there are lacking five minutes to eleven (five by Bantu time). Ennyumba ye yabadde ebulayo katono mu maaso. His house was a short distance ahead. Yajja abulidde mu mugugu. He came loaded down (lit. disappearing into) with a large bundle. Ssente te(zi)bula mukwate. Money is not lacking to one who is arrested/apprehended (i.e., a person charged with an offense will do everything possible to have himself exhonerated). gunaabula asala, lit. the case (omusango is implied by gu-) will lack any one who (can) pass judgment, i.e., it will be a cliff-hanger/a'thriller, ' a contest whose outcome is in doubt to the end or it will be pandemonium, sheer chaos/confusion.

to do one's Utmost (e$p. with an evil objective). Yankola ogwa walugali. He really played a dirty trick on me. cf. olugali.

decompose (of a corpse). Ettooke likunku- muka. The bunch of plantains has ripened to the point that the fruit is almost falling off. Akunkumuka ng'aseka. He is doubled up with laughter.

(-kununkirizza) also occurs as kunuukiriza & kunukkiriza v.i. & tr. appl. caus. be near (to); approach; reach out (for). Nnalumansi kati akununkiriza emyaka essatu. N. is now almost three years old.

in front; in advance, ekifo eky'oku manjo, the foremost place/position.

v.tr. jump over; leave out, skip, omit, kubuuka be ceoppa, to run in leaps, kubuuka bibanda, to romp, frolic, kubuuka mugwa, to skip rope, kubuuka mmere, to interrupt one's meal, particularly to take care of something urgent, kubuuka nga muddawo, to enjoy oneself, have a wonderful time (esp. at a party). Kyatu- buukako okuwulira nti yasenguka. It surprised us very much/took us aback to hear that he had moved. Olubuto lubuuseemu. There was a miscarriage. She has had a miscarriage. Gabuuse ensaka. The meal has been magnificent, lit, they (matooke implied) have jumped the pot. amaaso ne gabula n'okumbuuka mu kiwanga, and my eyes almost jumped out of my skull, i.e., I made a grimace of pain or gave a look of shock/amazement. Enviiri zaamubuuka ku mutwe. His hair stood on end.

promote; popularize, okutumbula ku ddoboozi, to raise the voice, okutumbula ebbeeyi y'emmwanyi, to raise the price of coffee, ebintu ebisinga okutumbula ku busuubuzi. the things which are most conducive to promoting/developing trade.

former position, used mostly in the phrase omutima (or omwoyo) okudda mu nteeko, to be relieved, recover from a shock/surprise, lit. the heart to return to its normal position. Emitima gy'abantu tegiri mu nteeko. The people are disturbed/worried. Embeera yali yadda dda mu nteeko. The situation had already cooled down. Omwoyo ne gumudda mu nteeko. And she calmed down. cf. lteeka.

adv. almost. (The verb in a clause containing kata is in the subjunctive. This is usually rendered by an English past tense. Ensonyi kata zibatte. They almost died of shame, lit. shame almost killed them. See katono.

adv. in the farthest/ most remote corner of the house or room.

an anomalous verbal root which always takes the subject prefix ka- {the implied noun subject is akabi) and a direct object (usually p ronominal). In meaning it corresponds most closely to Eng. dare, singa kantanda ne nzita ku kamu ku busolo obwo, if I dared kill one of these little animals. Nyjende? Teka- kutanda. Shall I go? Don't you dare.

v.i. appl. 2 be almost lost to sight (as an airplane); disappear on the horizon; become fainter and fainter (as a voice); go on and on. Yazimirira nnyo ng'ayogera ku bintu bingi. He went on and on talking of many things.

an extremely beautiful girl, lit. which almost nevers appears like the flower of a yam. cf. labika.

cf. omufundeero.

watch, kugenderera kwe- baka, to start falling asleep, be almost asleep. Agenderera kutuuka ku bwa Katik- kiro. He is aiming at attaining the premiership. Genderera ekyapa nti... Watch for the sign which (reads)...

v. tr. appl. 2 fail to catch/grasp firmly; almost let fall; catch something toppling.

o- (mu/mi) trouble, difficulty; chore, daily task; problem. Gyebale emi- teeru. Gyebale emirimu. Thank you for the work you are doing. (These phrases are used almost in the nature of a greeting.)