ebbaluwa; (of alphabet) ennukuta.
e- (n/n) [Stv., Ar.] letter; certificate; diploma.
a- (ka/bu) sty in the eye; small louse, with the -a of rel. fine, delicate, ennukuta ez'akasekere, fine, delicate letters (in reference to handwriting).
a- (ka/bu) accent (written on a letter), diacritical mark; stop on an organ. cf. Izima, zimiriza.
rub forcefully. okukulubuuta ebbaluwa, to dash off a letter, cf. kulukuuta, kuuta.
etc.; train (creeping plants); tack (needlework), okulandiza ennukuta, to write slanting/spidery letters, okulandiza ebigambo, to spread rumors; to betray confidences.
e- (n/n) vowel, ennukuta empee- rezi, vowel, vowel letter, cf. ^wa, weerera. contr. ensirifu.
e- (n/n) [Sw., dr.] letter of the alphabet.
e- (n/n) consonant, ennukuta ensirifu, consonant letter, contr. empeerezi.
olunakuolukulu.
v.W., okukulungula. r. up, okuzinga. r. the eyes, okuzinyisa amaaso. r. self up, okweromola. r. letter r, okukululiza.
have uncertainty/hesitations/doubts about; stutter. Omwana ennyukuta akyazi- tamattama. The child is still uncertain about the letters of the alphabet, cf. obutamittami.
also tuusiza (-tuusizza) lit. cause to arrive for, etc. (but usually rendered otherwise in translation). Ontuukiza ebbaluwa eno ew'omwami. Make sure you get this letter to the chief for me. Ebintu bye yabituukiza wano. He brought his things here first. Bwe nnatuukayo yantuukiza mu nsonga. When I arrived there he went straight to the point without any preliminaries.
exchange letters. cf. -wandiike, obuwandiike, eggwandiikiro, ekiwandiiko, omuwandiisi, ssaabawandiisi.
wave about; swing; keep (someone) on the go, cause to move about; bother, okuwuuba omuntu ebbaluwa, to write a person a letter, kujja ng'owuuba emikono, to come empty- handed, lit. waving your arms. Yawuubako olubu lw ebigere mu maka ga Mukasa. He dropped over to Mukasa's house.
pick off; snatch from; quote, cite. Ebba- luvva ye esooka n'ebigambo bye yanokodde mu kitabo. His letter begins with words he has cited from a book. cf. ^noga.
(low tone) particle used: 1) as the introductory element in the second of two closely related clauses. The corresponding English may be a verbal participle; in other cases nga may be rendered how, how much. Mbalaba nga batambula mu kkubo. I see them walking in the road. Bwe yalaba ng'akooye n'asaba okuwummula. When he saw how tired he was, he asked to rest. 2) as the equivalent of the English conjunction if. Nga tebatuuse ku ssaawa bbiri, tobalindirira. If they have not arrived by eight o'clock, do not wait for them. 3) as the equivalent of the English conjunction when. Ng'otuuse obandabiranga. When you arrive give them my regards. 4) in conjunction with bwe, meaning while, as. Tunyumye nga bwe tuwaata. Let us converse as/while we are peeling. 5) as the introductory element in a ‘not yet' clause (= neg. + -nna-). Toweereza bbaluwa ezo nga sinnakugamba. Do not send off the letters before I tell you. 6) as an untranslatable element in some compound tenses. Babadde nga bayimba we nnagendeddeyo. They were singing when I went there. (E.O.A.)
o- (mu/mi) with the -a of rel. huge, enormous; excessively long, omukukku gw'ebbaluwa, an extremely long letter.
e.g., yera, sweep (imperative); okwera, to sweep (infinitive). Verbs of this type are listed under y- rather than e-. Reflexive verbs with the initial e- are listed immediately under their non-reflexive counterparts: esamba, kick oneself, is contained in the entry for samba, kick. Reflexive verbs which do not have non-reflexive counterparts are alphabetized on the basis of their second letter: -ebaka, sleep, is listed under b.
stressed letters; double consonants, cf. sinziira.
-gingeginge, -gingirire adj. make up; false; forged; falsified. Ebbaluwa yaliko omukono omuginge. The letter had a forged signature, enviiri enjingejinge, stylized hair, hair treated by a beauty operator. cf. ginga, gingirira.