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Baa

/[bæ]/ intj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Intj
  1. 1
    The characteristic cry of a sheep. onomatopoeic
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Initialism of Broad Agency Announcement. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
  2. 2
    An administrative atoll of the Maldives, officially named Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi.
  3. 3
    Initialism of Business Associate Agreement: under HIPAA, a contract to protect personal health information. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Noun
  1. 1
    The characteristic cry or bleating of a sheep. onomatopoeic
  2. 2
    The letter ب in the Arabic script.
  3. 3
    the cry made by sheep wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make the characteristic cry of a sheep.

    "He treble baas for help, but none can get."

  2. 2
    cry plaintively wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Compare German bäh, mäh; an imitative word. Notes on phonological development The pronunciation /bɑː/ is perhaps a development from earlier /bæː/ reflecting the shift of /æː/ to /ɑː/ during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compare Early Modern English bae, bea, both "to baa", respectively displaying the then current pronunciation of Middle English /aː/ as /æː/ and the failure of Middle English /ɛː/ to raise, and the replacement of mew with meow for another instance where recent sound change has made onomatopoeia opaque.

Etymology 2

Compare German bäh, mäh; an imitative word. Notes on phonological development The pronunciation /bɑː/ is perhaps a development from earlier /bæː/ reflecting the shift of /æː/ to /ɑː/ during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compare Early Modern English bae, bea, both "to baa", respectively displaying the then current pronunciation of Middle English /aː/ as /æː/ and the failure of Middle English /ɛː/ to raise, and the replacement of mew with meow for another instance where recent sound change has made onomatopoeia opaque.

Etymology 3

Compare German bäh, mäh; an imitative word. Notes on phonological development The pronunciation /bɑː/ is perhaps a development from earlier /bæː/ reflecting the shift of /æː/ to /ɑː/ during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compare Early Modern English bae, bea, both "to baa", respectively displaying the then current pronunciation of Middle English /aː/ as /æː/ and the failure of Middle English /ɛː/ to raise, and the replacement of mew with meow for another instance where recent sound change has made onomatopoeia opaque.

Etymology 4

From Arabic بَاء (bāʔ).

See also for "baa"

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