ennaku z'Okusiiba, Ekisiibo, Kalemi.
for which see the grammars. The following usages are important for lexical purposes because the derivatives formed cannot all be included in the dictionary. 1) bu + la ~ negative infinitive, often equivalent to an English noun which is not an infinitive in form. okumanya, to know; obutamanya, not to know; ingnorance. 2) bu + stem of a noun from another class often produc es an adverb which must be rendered by a phrase in English, enkofu, guinea fowl; bukofu, like a guinea fowl, kukaabya bukofu, to make cry like a guinea fowl, i.e., to cause to suffer. 3) bu + reduplicated stem of a noun of another class indicates plurality with the added notions of indefiniteness, scattered state or even contemp t. essomero, school; obusomerosomero, small, scattered schools which are inferior in quality. 4) normal verb form + bu + verb stem + i. Abalala bagamba nti... others say that; Abalala bagamba bugambi nti... others just/ simply/only say that.
o- (bu/-) expertness, exper- tise; great talent, cf. nnakinku.
doggedly, kulwana bwezizingirire, to fight bravely without retreating. Enkuba yatonnya bwezizingirire. The rain came whirling down. cf. zizingirira.
gevvu, nene; vide di byoto, omuwaladdume, ssebinaagina, ssekimpanika; become c., okugejja, okusembeesa ebbuto, okusunguka olubuto.
lungi nnyo.
rare be fat/corpulent; be short and stocky.
the sap of which is repellent to termites, cf. ganduula.
e- (li/ma) a brilliant pieceof advice; an excellent idea. The gramm. plur. ama- gezi (q.v.) differs in meaning from, the sing.
nzigunze) v.tr. dash down; hurl down; throw violently; stab. Yamu- ggunda agakonde mu kifuba. He punched him forcefully in the chest.
you (referring to one person), ggwe wamma and wamma ggwe are interjectional phrases of high- frequency which have no close English eauivalent. They are used when there is good rapport between speaker and hearer. Perhaps ‘I say!' is the nearest equivalent.
have room; correspond to; be equivalent; be fitting/suitable/appropriate, omuwendo ogugya mu nsawo ya buli muntu, a suitable price, a price which ‘fits' everyone' s pocketbook. Omukazi gwe yawasa tamugyamu. The woman he married is not suitable for him. Oba nno ezo emboga zigyamu nsimbi ki? I wonder what that cabbage is worth.
be, it is the equivalent of the English prepositions to or from, gye ndi, where I am; to me. Yali afuukidde ddala wa luganda gye ndi. He had become as much as a relative to me. With a change in tone gye becomes an emphatic adv. of place, there, gy'ali (= gye a I i) he is there; he is well (in answering salutations). Idioms: Ekyo kiri gy'ali. That is up to him. Katonda gy'ali! God will avenge me. gye bujja, in the future. God is there = God knows what is best or Nze gye nnali nga jinamba nti ajja. As for me, I kept thinking he would come.
obugayaavu; be indolent, okugayaala, okubeyaabeya.
nyiikivu; be indolent, okunyiikira.
kyejo; be i., okwewanika, okusamaala, okugira ekyejo.
e- (li/ma) insolence, impudence. Wa jjuguli. He is an insolent/impudent person.
domineer; be inso- solent to, show contempt for; defy.
a- adv. silently, quietly, mu ngeri ya kasirise, in a quiet manner; silently. cf. sirika.
a- (ka/bu) small tree; small stick, okukola ekintu n'odda ne mu kati, to do something excessively/to an extreme degree; to do something wonderfully/efficiently. Yayimba n'adda ne mu kati. He sang wonderfully. Twalya ne lukubyako kati. We ate excessively and still had plenty left over. cf. omuti.
adj. excellent, first-rate, omuyimbi kayingo, a very talented singer, omuzinyi kayingo, a great dancer, omusambi w'omupiira kayingo, an outstanding football player, cf. yinga.
a- (ka/bu) dim. o/^omuzigo, butter, q.v. kusiiga kazigo ku maaso, to lie using soothing/jdeasing words, to sweet-talk, lit. to rub butter on the face, kiiha akalimu akazigo, to be rude/insolent.
to hurl (someone) to the ground violently.
e- crowdedness, usually as an adv. or with the -a of rel. close together, crowded; abundant, plentiful. Ejinaano ya kifuko. The wheat is thickly sown. Aba- karamoja bazimba kifuko. The Karamoja build (their houses) close together, cf. fuka.
e- with the -a of rel. fake, sham; fraudulent; counterfeit, ensimbi ez'eki- kwangala, counterfeit money.
e- adv. quietly, silently, mu kimugunyu, in silence, silently (often of eating), olutalo olw'ekimugunyu, cold war; underground hostilities, cf. mugunya.
e- (ki/bi) beard; moustache; whiskers, kukwata mu kirevu, lit. to grab by the beard, i.e., to be insolent towards, to tease (of a child towards an adult), cf. akalevu, amalevu.
e- (ki/bi) kindness; mercy; generosity. Frequently used with the -a of rel. as the equivalent of the Eng. adjectives: kind, nice; merciful, etc. Yandeeta ekisa. He made me feel sorry for him. Ekisa kya- mbuukako. I am through with being kind, lit. kindness has flown from me. Yali wa kisa nnyo gye nai. lie very kind to me. Ekisa kitta, n'enge etta. (prov.) Kindness kills, hostility kills. Extremes are bad.
e- (ki/bi) fast, fasting; time of fasting, Lent; year. cf. siiba.
e- no plur. (ki/bi) insolence, effrontery, impudence, okutiiriisa ekitigi, to be insolent, cf. ettigi.
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) gift, present; talent, natural ability, cf. ^tona.
nzise) v.i. go down, come down, descend; sink. Omuwendo gusse. The price has gone down, kukka ntuuyo, to sweat profusely, kukka maziga, to weep silently, kukka kitakata, to have a lucky/ narrow escape, kukka bbeeyi, to go down in price; (of people) to become a has-been/ a nobody.
be slow in cooking; refuse to ripen (of fruit); be stunted in growth (of persons); be silent, refuse to answer; remain motionless (when expected to act); sulk, okukona ku musomo, to fail a course and be obliged to repeat. Embooge ekonye. lit. The mbooge (a green vegetable which cooks easily) has refused to cook. Things have gone completely wrong.
to settle a dispute. Ekimala empaka kusirika. The way to settle a dispute is to keep silent or On points of dispute it is best to wait and see kumala bwoya ku n turn be, to keep (someone) running ragged, annoy (someone) by keeping him on the go all the time, lit. finish off the hair on the calves of the leg. kumala mmya, to put (someone) in his place, take down a peg. kumala muntu maanyi, to take the wind out of someone's sails, kukamala, to cause trouble (ka = akabi or akabaate). Okamaze. Now you have gone and done it.
e- no plur. (ki/bi) impertinence, insolence; outrage, okugira ekyejo, to act insolently. okutiiriisa ekyejo, to be insolent, ow'ekyejo, an insolent person. Obagira ekyejo. You are spoiling them (esp. of children ).
e- (ki/ba) season of plenty, time of abundance (of food); overabundance; blessing. cf. yengera.
-radde) v.i. be or become calm/fc>eaceful/settled. Eradde? lit. Is it calm/f>eaceful? The meaning is lost and the word is used as the first of a series of greetings, equivalent to How are you? The reply may be Maamu! Maamu, mirembe! etc. cf. mulaala.
etc.; get for, provide; give greetings for another. Omundabira. Give him my regards. kulabira mu maddu, to be overjoyed to see (something, somebody). okulabira ku..., judging from, compared with. Kino kitono nnyo okulabira ku nkuba etonnya wano mu K. This is very little compared with the rain that falls here in K. kulabira awo (a high-frequency phrase which is difficult to reduce to any simple English equivalent): to get or see something by surprise or unintentionally; to do something without having made plans. Simanyi oba nga nnaagenda, leero nnaalabira awo. I do not know if I am going, I shall have to see/I really have no definite plans. Nnaalabira awo nga bandeetedde ku kamere. I was surprised when they brought me a little food. Baalabiraawo nga bazannya. They happened to be playing. Ndabira awo ekitabo kyange. You see that book of mine over there, give it to me. awo nga nkulabira or awo we nnalabira (stylized ending for a fable or tale). So the tale endeth.
o- (lu/n) violent kick, with the -a of rel. big and powerful, olubasi I w'omusajja, a big powerful man.
o- no plur. (lu/n) excellently cooked mash of plantains.
child, kutiiriisa lyana, to be insolent.
a ttima, a. nge.
e- (n/n) kind of ngege (a freshwater fish, Tilapia esculenta).
calmness. Kiri mulaala. teyeepiilira ngabo. (prov.) lit. It is calm (so) he does not buy himself a shield. Perhaps = In times of plenty one should prepare for times of famine, cf. laala, kirimulaala.
e- (n/n) kind of fish resembling a small perch, Tilapia esculenta. cf. obugege.
adj. real, genuine; actual; superb, first-rate. Omukristu nnamaddala, a true Christian. Oluganda olwa nnamaddala, excellent Luganda.
e- (n/n) colocynth berries; game played by children with these berries, ma- tama kuba ntengo, to be silent when questioned (particularly when one is being accused). Yatuukira ku kubuuza Nsimbye- gwire gy'ali kyokka nga omukyala amatama ntengo. He asked where N. was, but the wife only kept silent, cf. akatengotengo.
ele- phant-snout fish, Mormyrus kannume. cf. lbega, -tono.
gagga; vide bikokyo, bigooto.
bi nnyo.
ingi.
be, okubugaana.
ekyengera, egingirizi.
okukkakkana, okukya, okukoma.
tekya, tekkakkana.
a kyejo; vide insolent,
of a body of water); become turbulent, be stirred up; be disturbed.
become turbulent, be disturbed, etc.
v.tr., okusirisa, okuwooyawooya, okuwoowoota, okusiisiita. silent, be, okusirika.
kasirise.
use as a point of departure. Note: This is a word for which a precise English equivalent is lacking. The following phrases illustrate the manner in which it may be used: okusinziira ku lipoota eyafuniddwa olunaku lw'eggulo, according to a report received yesterday. Okufa kwe kwasinziira ku butwa. His death was due to poisoning. Tulina ensonga ejinumu ddala kwe tusinziira ukukkiriza nga waiiwo... We have very firm reasons (from which we start) for believing that_ cf. -sinziivu, ekisinziiro
become silent; stop (of a clock or watch), relig. make a retreat.
a tulo, rel. form of v. okubongoota.
to be completely silent.
be, okumunkunya.
amagezi.
gezi, a magezi.
okutibula ekyejo, to be insolent/impudent.