okuwa, okugaba, okutonera, okuweereza. g. birth to, okuzaala. g. place to, okusegulira. g. up, okuleka, okuta. g. oneself up, okwewaayo. g. ear to, okutega amatu, okuwulira. g. out, tr., okulanga, okubuulira. g. judgment, okusala omusango. be much given to, okuweebwa jjaliri.
crack, crackle; give off sparks, flare up; burst, explode; blow up; throb, tinglejfo/ the fingers, etc.); be very hot (of sunshine); come out, debouch (of a small road or path); fig. break out (of war, sickness, etc.). Olutalo lubaluse buto nate mu Bulaaya. War has broken out again in Europe.
cover up; close (a lid, a book), okubikka ku maddu, to restrain one's desires or passions, okubikka ebibiri, to do two things at once, both of which require considerable attention, okubikka emiggo, to give a sound beating to, lit. cover with sticks. Lugaba abadde akyatubisseeko akasubi. God was still protecting us, lit. covering us with a blade of grass.
give, okuzaala.
amuse, give pleasure to.
be returned/given back, etc.
empulirizo; give ear, okutega amatu.
to give a sound beating to (with sticks).
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).
give, okwongeza.
okusonyiwa,
okusonyiibwa, ekisonyiwo.
okunyiikaala, okusunguwala, okuloma; give off fumes, okufuumuuka, okunyooka omukka.
legs); distribute widely. Tongaayuulirako mimwa! Don't give me any of your talk, lit. spread your lips to me! Bakigaayudde ng'enkoko eriibwa abantu omusanvu. (prov.) lit. They distributed it like the chicken which is eaten by seven people. (Said when the provisions of food or beer are insufficient for the guests). cf. olugaayu.
etc.; give/hand over to/for, etc. Yatugabulira wa muganda we. He entertained us at his brother's place.
gabisa (-gabisizza) v.tr. caus. 1 & 2 cause to give/share/divide, etc.; use, employ (e.g., a container) in giving/distributing.
etc.; entertain at, etc. Yatugemu- lira mu nnyumba ye empya. He entertained us in his new house. cf. omugemuzi.
give, okugabula.
pamper, indulge, give excessive freedom to.
etc.; give in to, yield to; heed; obey, abatagondedde kiragiro kya kwediima, those who have not obeyed the order to strike.
sag, tip; bend; move/walk in a sluggish manner.
empisa; give up a bad h., okwewangula.
reach a high point of intensity; be involved/ complicated (referring to a situation, either in a favorable or unfavorable sense). Gu- jabagidde: ng'omunafu azadde kaiiira. iii (low high low) interj. expressing surprise and flat contradiction I just don't believe you. (prov.) It is complicated affair, just as when a lazy cultivator gives birth to a heavy eater.
nzize) v.i. come; arrive; happen. as an aux. verb before the inf. of another verb denotes the near future. Abawanguzi bajja kuweebwa ebirabo. The winners will be given prizes, jjangu! (= jja mangu) imper. come! come quickly! gye bujja, in the future, omwezi ogujja, next month.
lit. How did the little girl (akawala is implied by ka-) spend the night?
a- (ka/bu) gift given to a guest by the host. cf. -genyi, obugenyi.
a- (ka/bu) a small animal related to the otter which lives near water and is very skillful in catching mudfish (mmale); the second totem of the Otter Clan. Oddizza kaneene mmale. lit. You have given the otter a fish, i.e., you have given something (usually food) to someone who has a great hunger for it/who will appreciate it very much.
a person given to joking, cf. saaga.
a- adv. gently, calmly, okussa akasiiso, to look over appraisingly/ critically, to give (someone) the once over.
a- (ka/bu) small chair; small stool. Nnazaalibwa mu njala ‘ani amuwadde a katebe.' I was born during the great famine of the early 1940's, lit. the famine ‘who has given him a chair (so that he can sit down and eat our food)?' cf. ekitebe, entebe.
adj. very small, tiny (of persons, animals, fowls). Ampadde akakoko kawalucocco. He has given me a very small chicken.
lit. the giver of portions/allotments, i.e., the dispenser of fate. cf. wa, ^gera, gereka.
food, money, wages). Abakozi babakena emisaala. They give the workers very poor wages, cf. -kene.
e- (ki/bi) a selection given to students by a teacher for memorization, cf. kwata.
to evade, dodge, give (someone) the slip; to trick.
e- (ki/bi) thing (physical object); thing, matter, affair, plur. ebintu things; belongings, possessions, wealth. Si kintu. It doesn't matter, okusala ebintu ku muwala, to set a dowry for one's daughter, i.e., the amount given by the groom to the parents of the bride, okugwa mu bintu, to hit it lucky, have a streak of good luck (by acquiring position, wealth, etc.). cf. obuntuntu, akantu, oluntu.
e- (ki/bi) pardon, forgiveness. cf. sonyiwa.
e- (ki/bi) banana tree, Musa sapien- tum; plantain tree, Musa paradisiaca. ow'omu bitooke, a rustic, greenhorn, okukyala n'osimba ekilooke, to overstay a visit, lit. visit and you plant a banana tree, bitooke bye bigwa, the plantain trees fall, a phrase used to intensify a preceding neg. verb and give it a positive meaning. Talya bitooke bye bigwa. He is a tremendous eater. Tadduka bitooke bye bigwa. He is a great runner, cf. ettooke.
etc. okukubira omusango/ensonga, to sum up a case/a matter, okukubirako, to add; to make up; to complete, okukubiramu, to give over and above. Tonkubiramu kirala? Aren't you going to give me anything more? empapula z'amawulire ezikubirwa mu Afrika, newspapers which are published in Africa.
handover; give (as a present), donate.
to help a person, give someone a hand.
burglar, lit. the iarge naii (kyala) has given it to me (-kimpadde).
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.
show how; direct, instruct; give instructions to (a person who is lost). Nnakola omulimu nga bwe yandagirira. I did the job as he instructed me.
nnanze) v.tr. announce, give notice of; advertise; blame, accuse; prophesy, predict.
give public notice of. okulangirira olutalo, to declare war.
give, okugabangula.
lemesa (-lemesezza) v.tr. caus. 1 & 2 cause to fail; cause to give up/despair; be too much for, be too great a burden/task for; make powerless; hold back, hinder.
etc. kulimbalimba muntu na bintu, to keep promising to give a person something without doing so.
bewitch, place a a spell on, put a hex on. okuloga obulwa- dde, to cure of sickness, okuloga ennyon- ta, to assuage thirst. Nzija kukukuba nkuloge eddalu eryo erikuli mu mutwe. I'll give you a beating that will knock that nonsense out of your head. Akuloze mukazi Muyima? Has a Muhima woman bewitched you? What has paralysed your efforts? Why are you there doing nothing (when work must be done or when danger must be avoided)? cf. -loge, obulogo, eddogo, omuloge, omulogo.
ndozze) v.tr. tell, recount, narrate, okulojja omukwano, to declare/express one's love. Kye nnalaba mu ... ndi fa nkirojja. What I saw in ... I will remember as long as I live, lit. I will die recounting it. Amulojja temumala. He is really amazed at him (in either a good or bad sense). Buli omu alulojja bubwe. Everyone tells it/describes it from his own point of view (said when different people give different reports of the same incident).
rare remunerate; give a gratuity to; do a service for.
a- (la) down payment; deposit given to a merchant to hold an item until full payment is made.
o-: okuzinya oluguje, to bother, pester, give (a person) no peace, keep after.
o- (lu/n) span, distance from the thumb to the middle finger, okuggyamu enta, to give up, lose hope.
o- no plur. (lu/n) outward cleanliness, superficial cleanliness. Alina luyonjoyonjo, sso si buyonjo bwa namadda- la. He gives the appearance of being clean, but he really isn't, cf. -yonjo, obuyonjo.
o- no plur. hot tea. as an attribute very hot (of a liquid), ekikopo ky'olweje, a cup of hot tea. Amazzi g'ompadde oku- naaba nga lweje bulala. The water you have given me to bathe in is too hot.
a- plur. (li/ma) hope, expectation, okuggyayo amasiko, to give up hope.
e- (n/n) conflict. Ensi ezo ziri ku mbiranye. These countries are at odds with each other/in a state of conflict, kusuza ku mbiranye, to give a great deal of trouble to. Alina kiyegu kimusuza ku mbiranye. He has a case of the flu which is causing him trouble/keeping him awake all night.
nnyimye) v.tr. refuse to give; grudge; withold. Ebintu ng'ebyo osaana kubimma mazzi. You should never say anything about these matters, lit. you should withhold water from them.
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.
kind of wading bird related to the herons, lit. give me (mpa) the children (baana).
lit. he who causes to weep. cf. kaaba.
one who given, omuwi w'amagezi, adviser, omuwi w'omusolo, taxpayer, cf. I wa.
o- (mu/ba) backer, one who gives encouragement, advice and support to another; cheerer (e.g., at a fight); one who shoos away dangerous animals and birds from domestic fowl. cf. yasira.
o- (mu/ba) poor person. Enkoko y'omwavu teggwa meebaza. (prov.) lit. A poor man's chicken has no end of thanks. If a poor man gives you something he wants to be thanked for it repeatedy. cf. -yavu, yavuwala, obwavu.
v., okutuuma, okwatula, okw alula; (to give a bad n.) okussaako olukongoolo.
e- (n/n) extreme speed, kukuba ndiima, to run fast; to speed away; to give a good kick (in soccer).