okugoberera, okuyita na . . . okuyiriikirira, okukunakkuna, okuwondera; f. a road, okulembekera.

mbadde) v.i. be. In certain tenses ba is replaced by -li, Both may be used as primary verbs or as auxiliaries in compound tenses. bwe tuba mu ssomero, when we are in school. Yabadde anzise. He nearly killed me. Tuli mu kisenge. We are in the room. Twali tuli mu kisenge. We were in the room, ba and -li may be followed by na (-na in the case of -li) to express possession. Tulina ensimbi. We have money. Twabadde n'ensimbi. We had money.

nag, urge with troublesome persistence; pursue closely, follow behind.

spy on; detect, ferret out; follow for purposes of surveillance, ‘tail.' cf. mbega.

mmenzebenze) v.i. hobble along, walk painfully, walk with the back bent forward, bendegera (-bendegedde, mmendegedde) v. tr. make restitution for; reimburse; pay for (lit. and fig.); be accountable to. Ojja okubende- gera ebinaddawo. You will suffer the consequences (lit. that which will follow). Aliba abatutteyo alimmendegera. Whoever takes them there will have to answer to me for it.

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- adv. kujja bulembwe, to come on the heels of, follow closely; to come one after the other, come together.

o- (bu/-) tracks, traces; footsteps; direction, okugoba obuwufu, to follow the steps of; to track (of a hunter), okuzza obuwufu, to go back, return, okukyusa obuwufu, to change one's course, alter one's direction. Ka tubagwe mu buwufu. Let's trail them. cf. oluwufu.

nzize) v.i. return, come back; go back; go; come up (of crops); take effect (of medicine), kudda mu mbeera, to return to normal, kudda mu maziga, to burst into tears; kudda mu ddiiro, to do a job over (because it was poorly done the first time); to dance again, kudda ngulu, to regain consciousness; to wake up. kudda buto, to become childish, enter one's second childhood (see buto for additional meanings). kudda ku mabbali, to stand aside, kudda mu bi- gere bya..., to follow in the footsteps of, succeed. Tayinza kudda awo kumala bi- seera bye. He can't just stand around and waste his time, abanlu abatalina kadda eri mumwa, people who have nothing to eat, lit. who do not have (a little thing, kantu implied) which returns to the lip. Emmere ezze. The food has been vomited up or The crops have come up.

be next in order, oluddako, the next day, the following day (lu- implies lunaku, day). Nnambi y'anzirako. Nnambi is my younger sister/the one who comes after me. Namusoke azzeeko omubiri. N. has gained some weight.

follow.

carelessness, inevitability (in the sense of being obliged to do what one does not want to do) and even sheer exasperation. Tumaze ga- gendayo. We sent there just for the sake of going. Mumale gaddamu, temulowooza. Just give an answer, don't think about it first. Mala gakola. Just go ahead and do it. Don't spend too much time on it. Among the younger generation there is a tendency to drop the verbal stem which normally follows ga-. The meaning is implied from context, e.g., Twamala ga-. We simply went there (or simply did something else, dep ending on previous context).

nnenze) v.i. go, go away; relieve oneself, ‘go.' Before a following infinitive it expresses future time. Tugenda kugenda. We are going to go. oku- lugenda, euph. to die, lit. to go on the journey (olugendo is implied by -lu-). Mu- naffe alugenze. Our friend is dead.

rare except in the following derived forms:

nzigye) v.tr. take; take away/ off/out, etc. (The enclitics -ko, -mu, -wo are frequently suffixed to ggya, performing a role analogous to that of the adverbs following take, i.e., away, off, etc.). Ggyawo ekitanda. fake the bed away.. Ggyako ekikopo. Take the cup off (e.g., of the table), okuggyako, except, excepting, okuggya ku mabeere, to wean, okuggya omwoyo ku kintu, to neglect/forget something. okuggya akagere, to start walking, try one's first steps, okuggya obutiko, to pick mushrooms, okuggyawo omusango, to dismiss a case (at law). Kyanzigya enviiri ku mutwe okulaba nga... It made the hair stand up on my head to see that... Ebigambo bye yayogera byamuggya n'amaziga mu ki- wanga. The things which he said made her cry, lit. took tears from her skull. Temuggya okwo, mugende mu maaso. Don't stop there, go on. Keep up the good work.

go after; go to get, go to fetch.

as an aux. verb before a following inf. denoting desirability, suitability or obligation Ogwana okugenda okulaba ssengaawo. You ought to (should, have to) go and see your aunt.

twilight (on the Equator the period immediately preceding and following six P.M.). cf. linda, omuzaana; kalabiri- zabazaana.

do to extremes (in a bad sense). Ng'okamaze! You have really botched things up! In a more frequent usage kamala follows another verb and is translated by the English adverbs: extremely, very much, to a high degree. Omukyala yeraliikirira n'akamala.

do insistently, keep on (followed by the inf. of another verb). Nnakanda kulinda nga tajja. I kept waiting but he did not come. Nnakanda kwegayirira nga bwereere. I kept pleading but all in vain.

e- (ki/bi) foot; paw; footstep; footprint. ekigere ekisajja, big toe. ow'ebi- gere, pedestrian, okudda mu bigere bya..., to follow in the steps of; to replace, kulya kintu ne musenza bigere, to eat one's fill, lit. to eat something and you push away with the feet. cf. obugeregere, eggere, akagere, olugere.

a-: kuba n'essanyu ery'akinfiira, to experience a momentary happiness followed by grief, cf. fa, fiira.

e- adv. quickly, rapidly; hastily and in a slipshod manner, in a slapdash way. with the -a of rel. hasty, impulsive. Omwa- na oyo wa kipaku nnyo. | That child is very hasty/does not follow instructions.

exceed, be more than; be superior to. Asuubira, akira aloota. (prov.) He who hopes is superior to the person who merely dreams (presumably because hope is followed by action).

e- (ki/bi) lit. something hanging in space, fig. indecisive, incapable of deciding which side to take or which course to follow, kusigala awo kireebereebe, to be a fence-sitter, be betwixt and between. cf. leeba.

kutwala kirinnyamutikka, to follow in hot pursuit; to chase away.

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.

ndese) v.tr. permit, allow; leave, abandon, leka has the following uses as an auxiliary verb: 1) followed by the infinitive it means stop, leave off, refrain from. Leka kusoma, Stop reading. 2) followed by the subjunctive it exp res ses a request or exhortation. Leka tugambe nti... Let us say that...

nnondodde) v.tr. track, track down, follow, pursue, hurry.

o- (lu/n) long foot, okusikambula engere, also okusaawa engere, to walk fast. Baamulonda engere, they followed him/tailed him. cf. ekigere.

nnunze) v.tr. herd, tend (cattle); fig. keep in view; keep following around (someone who does not want to be followed ).

o- (lu/n) metal wire, oluuma olubaka, aerial (of a radio or television set). abajja bagoba oluuma, immigrant workers, lit. those who come following the telephone cable lines, cf. ekyuma.

o- adv. afterwards; later; (before a following inf.) after, oluvannyuma lw'oku- funa amawulire gano, after receiving this news, with the -a of rel. last, final, mu ssaawa ez'oluvannyuma, in the final hours. Mukasa y'abeera wa luvannyuma mu mugigi. Mukasa is at the tail end of the class. cf. -vannyuma, va, nnyuma.

o- with the -a of rel. successive, repetitive, following one another.

complete; use up, consume; spend (time); satisfy, be sufficient for. v.i. suffice, be sufficient; be adequate; be enough. As an auxiliary verb mala has the following uses (adapted from Ashton's Luganda Grammar): 1) To denote completed action mala is followed by the main verb in the inf. Twamaze okusamba omupiira ng'obudde buzibye. We finished playing ball by the end of the day. 2) Followed by an inf. without the I.V., mala stresses the completion of an action before another action begins. Onoomala kuleeta mazzi. You will first bring water. 3) Followed by ga- and a verbal stem, mala expresses inevitability, obligation or simple carelessness. Tumaze gagendayo. We simply had to go there. Bamala gakomaga mbugo zityo. They just beat out the bark in any old way. 4) Followed by the neg. of the ne tense, mala indicates a reversal of decision.

a-: used in phrases of the following pattern: Emmeeme yansala mayira. I became nervou s/worried/distraught.

e- (n/n) kind of edible plant, resembling spinach but with smaller leaves. It cooks very rapidly, hence the following idiomatic usage: Embooge teyabuguma nga tutuuse. We arrived in no time at all, lit. the mbooge had not even become warm.

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.

brother or sister (of the same sex as the person speaking or spoken of); cousin. Note that this noun never has the initial vowel and must be followed by a possessive adjective or a noun with which it is connected by the -a of rel.

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.

e- (n/n) way of getting up early, as adv. early in the morning; the next morning; the next day, the following day. cf. keeta [appl. form of ^kya).

e-: kwesiba nkerekejje (followed by inf.), commit oneself (to), work constantly and devotedly (in order to); be determined (to).

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.

possessor, nnannyini nnyumba, owner of the house; master of the house, nnannyini kutu, drum of the ear. bannannyini mugenzi, the relatives of the deceased. nnannyini mukolo master of ceremonies. nnannyinimu, owner of the house; husband, cf. Innyini, obwannannyini.

possessor of (followed immediately by the governed noun without the -a of rel.). buli nnyini mmotoka, every automobile owner. Nnyini Ggulu, the Owner of Heaven, God. Nnyinibulamu, the Master of Life, God. nnyinimu, owner of the house, master of the house. Nnyinimu! or Bannyi- nimu! Is anybody at home? (Asked by someone outside who really doesn't know.) cf. obwannannyini, nnannyini,2

e- (n/n) rear, as an adv. behind, in the back, ennyuma wa, behind, in back of. ennyuma w'omusajja oyo, behind this man. ennyuma y'omusajja oyo, the rear end o f this man. Note that when ennyuma is used as a noun it is followed by ya or za; in the prepositional phrase it is followed by by wa. cf. -vannyuma, ekyennyumannyuma, oluvannyuma.

-ko or -wo), kumalamu kyeso, to win at the game of mweso. kumalamu musolo, to flee, run off at a great speed, kumalamu kigwo, to throw (in wresting); to prevail (e.g., in an argument). Olumbe lwamumalamu amazzi. He died of illness, lit. disease finished up the water in him. kumalako kisa, to give up on (a person). Ommazeeko ekisa. You have worn out my kindness (because of your lack of appreciation), okumalawo obwe- taavu, to meet a need.

adj. usually following a noun of time, final, last; decisive, critical; long awaited. Omwezi guno ye nsalesale ku bakozi abagtvira. This month is the deadline for foreign workers. Leero ye nsalesale. Today is the final day or Today is the day that has long been awaited.

e- adv. instantly; rapidly, quickly, kuleeta ntatinda, to follow in hot pursuit.

e- (n/n) calf of the leg; in the plur. loins, kulega muntu ntumbwe, to follow after a person, dog the heels of a person. Mugende muzannyeemu emmere ekke mu ntumbwe. Go and play a while so your food may be digested, lit. go down into the calves. Kulemberamu y'akulega entu- mbwe. (prov.) lit. (He who says) ‘you go first' is measuring the size of your legs. He who gives you a task is trying to test your capabilities.

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

okugoberera, okuddirira; (inherit) okusikira; (prosper) okulaka, okufuna omukisa.

be put/ placed, etc. Wateekeddwawo ekitongole ekipya. A new department has been set up/ established, as an aux. verb followed by an inf. must, be obliged. Nteekwa okugenda. I must go. Oteekwa buteekwa okugenda. You very definitely have to go.

do usually (followed by an inf.); be on the point of doing (followed by an inf.); do quickly or do early (followed by a finite verb). Twa- teranga okusisinkana mu butale. We used to meet each other at the market. Yali anaa- tera okufa. He was on the point of dying. He was about to die. Otera n'omala. Try to finish quickly. Otera n'ojja. Try to come.

revile (with a personal object or a following preposition).

waabommwe, waaboobwe These constructions, usually following a personal noun such as mwana, are composed of the -a of rel. + -bo- + a plur. pron. They are best rendered of (our, your, their) family/ household/clan. Ono ani? Mwana waaboffe. Who is this? He is one of our family, cf. boowo.

a- as a prep, without, lit. where there is not (followed by a noun without the l.V. or by an infinitive), awatali nsimbi, without money, awatali kugenda, without going, cf. -li {under ba).

apparently a var. of wuba, -q.v. Snoxall gives the following m 6 an m ^ s : be insufficient for; slip the memory of; be too little for; fail.

mpondedde) v.tr. follow, follow after, pursue.

all of which seem to be related and to have some such common meaning as ‘break, tear, break away (depart), thin out.' They are treated here as separate verbs because even if their ultimate unity is allowed, it would be unwieldy to treat them as a unit. See the following entries: yaba, yabika, yabirira, yabiza, yabula

pursue, go after.

strive to catch up with.

do to the ultimate. Ayambadde n'aziguliza. He is dressed in his very best. Yadduka n'aziguliza. He ran at a very great speed.

conj. as soon as. Kyazira mwami we kuvaawo ng'adda mu tulo. A s soon as her husband left she went back to sleep.

o- (mu/ba) follower, adherent, abagoberezi b'ensolo, those who follow/|)ur- sue game (in a hunt), cf. goba, gobereza.

o- (mu/ba) tracker, one who locates game for those who follow, cf. ziga.

somebody else, abandi others, other people, olundi, sometimes; at another time, awandi, somewhere else.

verb stem

reach; (followed by an abstract noun, often the equivalent to the English comparison of equality). Ennyumba ye yenkana n'eyaffe obunene. His house is as large as ours. Benkana obukulu/amaanyi. They are of the same age/equal in strength. Eki- banja kyo kyenkana wa? How big is your piece of land, lit. extends where? buli Muganda w'afa yenkana, every Muganda, no matter who he may be. okwenkana awo, to that degree, to that extent. Wamukubira ki okwenkana awo? Why did you strike him so much/to that extent? kyenkana, lit. it is equal, often used as an adv., equally, in the same manner. Kyenkana okugamba nti..., It is the same as saying/it is equivalent to saying... Amala gavuga kyenkana nga bwe yandibadde omu ku nsi. He drives just as if he were the only person on earth. okwenkana inf.

v.tr. cut/break into pieces; fig. outrage. Probably from Lunyoro. The simple form is rare but the following derivatives are common.