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.

katono is also the form of the adj. -tono used before sing, nouns of the ka/bu class, cf. -tono, ^kata.

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

etc. Emmotoka bw'etambulako katono emipiira ebiri ne gibwamira ettaka. When the car had advanced a short distance two of the tires got stuck in the ground or had punctures/became flat.

use wasigadde (or waasigala) katono.

a- (ka/bu) small village. Tosekera ku kaalo katono. lit. You don't laugh in a small village, i.e., Your laughter is very loud. You laugh too much. cf. ekyalo.

a- adv. n'akaceppe = n'akatono, not at all, not a bit (with a neg. verb).

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- (ki/bi) respite, time off. Akabimbi akatono, kakira ekyosi. (prov.) A little bit of cultivating is better than doing nothing. cf. yosa.

singa obutono; in the least, n'akatono; vide ka,

a- (li/ma) back, in the form emabega ai art adv. back; behind, emabega w'oluggi, behind the door, emabega wange, behind me. emabegako katono, a little while back, little farther back (in space). ku Lwokutaano olwa wiiki eku- biddwa amabega, on Friday of last week. cf. bbega.

vide akakerenda, katono nnyo.

pick off (fruit, coffee, etc.); fig. kill, ‘pick off' (with guns, arrows). kunoga bantu nga ntula, to pick off people like flies, lit. ntula fruit, kunoga bigwo, to hurl to the ground. Yasu- suukiriramu katono nga lunoga. He gave a slight shiver and died, lit. (olumbe, death) picks off.

okuyimirira akatono.

stay; be left over, okusigala obuggo, to lose all one's friends; to have all one's goods stolen, lit. to remain like a stick, okusiga- lamu akakunkuna, to retain one's doubts, be dissatisfied with an explanation that is offered. Asigaddeko katono afe. Heison the point of death.

katono.

mpuunye) v.i. make indistinct sounds; moan, groan, v.tr. answer, reply to; reply with a grunt; respond to, react to. Teyampuuna n'akatono. He didn't answer me at all.

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.

i.e., be limited to just a little. cf. -gere, eggerezo, ekigero, ekigezo, lolugero.

v.tr. strike; beat; hit. Akaato kaffe kaali kakubyeko abantu. Our little boat was full of people. Akuba mu buli kasenge konna obwenyi. He pokes his head into every room. Yali ankubye ama- bega. He turned his back on me. Kati eby'okusoma mbikubye amabega. 1 have now finished my studies. Munnaffe Kampala amukubye amabega. Our friend has left Kampala. Yanneekubako ndyeko katono. He implored me to eat a little. Kakubye. I am in luck. Things are going my way. Kawundo kakubye eddirisa. lit. The bat has struck against the windowpane (used in reference to a woman who is carrying nn an illicit affair). Mu nju temuli kakuba. The house is completely silent/deserted. There isn't a soul stirring in the house, lit. there is nothing which is striking.

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.

little, next to nothing. Yazimba akayumba katono mpawekazira. He built a tiny little house. Ekiseera kyayita mpawekazira. A very short period time passed, abagoberezi mpawebazira, a very few followers (note the replacement of ka by ba).

little; thin, slender; few. Waayita ebbanga ttono, A short time passed, ebitono, brief remarks, cf. toniwa, akatono, nnabutono.

rush into. Yeekuba ensiko. He rushed into the bush. Yeekuba mu nju. He rushed into the house, okwekubako, to implore. Yanneekubako ndyeko katono era ne jinaana.bHe implored me to eat a little but I refused.