da ʈᶳa verb, transitive
do, be: a dummy verb
Redupdeda
seerakdo, make
1 – do, make: a dummy verb used as a causative auxiliary
Demdōem të ne gi mit da vë mōo nike!Make sure the kava doesn't make you sick!
SyntaxThe causative structure may follow a serial pattern {V1 vë V2} (e.g. ret vë mermēr ‘tie strong, strengthen by tying’); or it may use the generic, semantically non-specific verb da as V1 (e.g. da vë mermēr ‘make strong, strengthen’);
2 – + postverbal modifiera dummy verb used as the first element in several compounds, whether with a causative meaning or not
da metogviefrighten
da megariesadden
da mēse[make die] kill
da-hiadamage, harm
da-urvëmend, heal
da-toginprepare, make ready
da-reramake fun of
da-vitëtake away
da-gōrforbid, prevent
da-leldo in vain, fail
da-rakestart
da-hërfind
da-hur / da-urfollow
da-gerë / da-sëhtry
da-vetënie(be / do) how?
da-gëtuwēbe identical
da-habe different
📘 All these compounds are listed separately in this lexicon, whether spelt in two separate words, hyphenated, or written as a single lexeme.
seeda-vedo what?
3 – + bare noun Nturn into N, become N; be N
Ne tēle ni mat, pah vēn ni da n̄wië.Men die, and then become spirits.
Ni men̄ënie vē—n vēn vēn, ni da tēle luwō, ne ten̄wën.(His mother) fed him so well that he became a grown-up, a young man.
Ne n̄wië ne ni rak të ni da remë mi Merawehih.The devil managed to become (i.e. change himself into) M.'s mother.
SyntaxWhereas nouns do not need a copula in present statements (Nie ne leqëvine ‘She's a woman’), da becomes necessary when nouns are to be combined with T.A.M. markers (e.g. Complete aspect mat in Nie mat da leqëvine ‘She has become a woman’).
seeda wëbe like
tate da verb, intransitive
+ bare noun Nbe/do notbe not
Tate da hi ëv nine, ne meqhiēne n̄weren̄o.That's not smoke, it's just steam.
synonymdeda2
4 – affect ‹s.o.›, gen. in a bad way; hence harm, bother
MorphologyThis normally involves the transitive form: see dai-.
dagëtuwē ʈᶳaɣɛtʉwe verb, intransitive
da + gëtuwē
Redupdagëtgëtuwē
be (da) togetheridentical, the same
Na dagëtuwē, hi të na daha?Are they identical or different?
Ni vese hivie dagëtuwē ie.He told her exactly the same thing.
antonymdaha
dagerë ʈᶳaɣərɛ verb, transitive
da + gerë
Redupdedagerë
1 – do tentativelyattempt, try (to do s.th., të)
Kemor dedagerë nie të ni toge rerōn̄, pa mat da lel ē!We tried to make (the baby) quiet, but without success.
2 – taste, try ‹food, drink›
Dagerë!Try it! (Taste it!)
dagōr ʈᶳaɣor verb, transitive
da + gōr
2sgdaguroke3sgdagurō
generic verb (see da) associated with postverb gōr/gurō
1 – forbid, prevent access to ‹s.o., s.th.›; protect
Nihe na dagōr ne gehuh si.They have put a ban on coconut crabs (to protect the species).
2 – esplong form -gurōmanmake downpayment on ‹a woman› in order to reserve her as o.'s wife-to-be; hence get engaged to ‹s.o.›
qulqul mē mat dagurō.Her boyfriend has already ‘reserved’ her (i.e. they are already officially engaged).
AnthropologyAccording to this custom, the man's parents provide the family of the woman with presents as well as shell money (ne vot).
daha ʈᶳaha verb, intransitive
da + ha
be (da) distinctdifferent, distinct
Na ho daha menegëwih.It's slightly different.
None kike nie mat daha hiarēt.She has changed [lit. has become different] a lot now.
antonymdaha
dahia ʈᶳahia verb, indirect transitive
da + hia
Redupdedahia
do/be bad todo wrong (to, ē)
1 – damage (s.th., ē)
2 – harm, illtreat, bother (s.o., ē)
Ne n̄wië si dahia ē ne tēle.Devils can be harmful to people.
Tate dedahia ē nike !polite formulaDon't bother! [Don't bother yourself]
synonymdai-
dahur ʈᶳahʉr da-ur verb, transitive
da + hur
1 – do followingfollow, evolve in space following ‹s.th., s.o.›
Ge iu me dën ne tarepi n̄ër, ge da-hur ne sipahare.They climbed down the almond tree using [lit. following] the ladder.
2 – figfollow, conform to, be in accordance with ‹s.th.›
Nik' itë ne gehuh na memi: nawë, na da-ur ne vegevage pe ne.You know coconut crabs are red: that is in accordance with this legend.
dai- ʈᶳai verb, transitive
2sgdaike3sgdaie
+ human patienttransitive form of da ‘do’
1 – s.th.have a particular effect, whether pleasant or unpleasant, upon ‹s.o.›
Tewë të nike gengën tuwtōw, ne gi tat ho daike luwō.If you eat first, the kava won't have any strong effect upon you [it won't ‘do’ you big].
2 – event, feeling+affect, happen to ‹s.o.›
Ne vën gë ve daie nike?What's happening to you? [lit. what is ‘doing’ you?]
Nihe ge rōn̄ ne mētemeturtur ni daie nihe.They suddenly began to feel sleepy [they felt that sleepiness was ‘doing’ them].
📘 This is the usual pattern for statements about physical feelings and other uncontrolled states: hunger, thirst, heat, cold, sleepiness, fear, diseases, and so on.
3 – pejs.o.bother, harm ‹s.o.›; play a bad trick on ‹s.o.›
Leqëvine ne na lōlmerën ē të Merawehih të n' ake daihe ē si ave.That woman knew that M. was going to harm them in some way or another.
synonymda-hia
dal hië metu ʈᶳal hiɛ mətʉ noun
(cake?) of coconuttraditional name for the nalot cake, now usually called nalōt
darake ʈᶳarakə
Averb, intransitive
s.th.do/be up (rake)start, begin
Bverb, transitive
start, begin ‹s.th.›
Nie ni hur wulë, ni darake wulë ne herhur.So she sang again, she began her song again.
Të ke darake ne vegevage mino?Shall I begin my story?
datemēletë ʈᶳatəmelətɛ verb, indirect transitive
accustomed, used (to, ē)
Nike tate datemēletë që ē ne gi.You are not used to (drinking) kava yet.
datogin ʈᶳatɔɣin
Averb, intransitive
da + togin
be or get ready
Mowe nike vë datogin, nike vēn me dege n̄wule.When you're ready, come over and we'll go together.
Bverb, transitive
prepare, get ‹s.th.› ready
Ne gi ne, dōr të g' ake datogin davetënie?How are we going to prepare the kava?
Heqergë ge tog' ge datogin ne gengën lewō të hi hen̄were i metëvenie.The women are preparing a huge meal for the villagers.
dave ʈᶳaβə verb, intransitive
da + ave
Redupdevedave
interrogative verbdo what?
Nihe ge toge ge dave?What are they doing?
Nike vēn we dave?What are you going to do?
seedavetëniedo how?
davetënie ʈᶳaβətɛniə
Averb, intransitive
da + vetënie
interrogative verbdo/be what-kind (vetënie)be or do how?
Nike davetënie? Na gëwie?How are you? Fine?
Kemi të ge davetënie?How are you going to proceed?
Badverb
how? in what manner?
Dōr të g' ake datogin ne gi davetënie?How are we going to prepare the kava?
Cparticle
Discourse
that way; in that case
Davetënie, dōr ole weren̄o ne wuriël ōr rav n' ig' ē.Well, in that case, let's just fish using a fishing line.
da-vitë ʈᶳaβitɛ verb, transitive
da + vitë
generic termdo offremove, take ‹s.th.› off
davitë ne vin ortake the skin off the casuarina tree
Ole n' ir, vir të ge davitë ne hiēn̄we.You take a piece of coconut fiber, and then squeeze (the kava liquid out) so as to remove the residue.
davot ʈᶳaβɔt noun
<°daˈβatuMwotlapdɪvɛt
Flora
‘wild yam’: kind of edible yam growing wildDioscorea bulbifera.
Pa ne davot ie, na sōw weren̄o pe wë ne, tat me si tēle te va.This is wild yam, it just grows like that, nobody ever planted it.
da wë ʈᶳawɛ phrase
do/be likebe like (this or that), act in such and such way
Ne gengën kike tate da wë ne gengën pe remë mino ve rak.with negationThis food is not like the food my mother usually cooks.
Da ie pe wë ne vol-qen̄.The same thing happened [lit. It was like that] again every day.
Da wë nōk na taterihe.[lit. doing this way is right] That's the right way to do it.
SyntaxThis is how the word wë ‘like’ can form a predicate ‘be like’.
da wë ne phrase
do/be like thatthat way; sometimes in fact, actually
Nihe ve dōem të remë mēhe pe nihe ve vēn ne; pa da wë ne, ne n̄wië pe nine.They thought that person they were walking with was their mother; but in fact [lit. but that way], it was a devil!
dën1 ʈᶳɛn dë dëne preposition
<°dani
3sgdënie
1 – Ablative preposition: from, coming from ‹somewhere›
Nihe ge vēn dën ne Gawe vēn Venielave.They travelled from Gaua to Vanua Lava.
Nihe da-hur ne sipahare dën ne tarepi n̄ër.They climbed down the ladder from (the top of) the almond tree.
2 – figfrom ‹s.th., s.o.›: various non-spatial ablative meanings, e.g. origin of a transaction (‘buy from X’), individual in a group (‘one of them’), etc.
Nihe ge vēn të ge luk dën ne wëde.They went to shelter from the rain.
Noke n̄ih të ke tun dë sa n̄wil.I wanted to buy it from the chief.
Ne gi mak pah dën li gemël.The kava has run out in [lit. from] the men's house.
Tuwē dën nihe ni vēn.One of them decided to go.
dën2 ʈᶳɛn
Aadjective
rarewhole, entire
ne tarepiëne dënher entire body
seepahall
Bpostverb
entirely, completely
Pa nike të we rak pah wë nōk ia të ne tarepi vë memi dën.tale of the coconut crabYou will do like this until your body is entirely red.
deda1 ʈᶳəʈᶳa verb, transitive
reduplicated form of da ‘do, be’
Nihe na i deda urvë vë tēle.healersWhat they do is cure (da urvë) people.
main entryda
deda2 ʈᶳəʈᶳa verb, transitive
+ noun, NP, or AdvPbe not: negative form of da ‘do, be’
E e e, deda nine, na ha.No, it's not that one, it's a different one.
Ne hen̄wëvot deda vërvegol mi heqere wereri.Knives are not toys for children.
Noke deda qotker, noke mat luwō!I'm not a child, I'm already grown up!
Pene deda vi tēn: ri tēn.the abode of the deadPene is not under the ground, it is on the ground.
SyntaxExact equivalent of tate da ‘be not’ (See da). Used essentially for noun (equational or inclusory) predicates of the type {S is not a/the N}. Adjectival predicates combine directly with the negation tate, just like verbs: e.g. Nie tate medudut / *Nie deda medudut ‘It's not black’
deda… pe verb, transitive
be not… any longer
None kike nie deda ne n̄welen̄wēle reri pe.Nowadays, she's not a small girl any more.
Li venone k', deda remë mē pe, ne n̄wië pe v' in ne.At that moment, it was no longer his mother, it was a devil who was lying there!
deda-lewō ʈᶳəʈᶳaləwo
Averb, intransitive
group of peopledo bigcelebrate
Heqere te metëvenie ve gel ve deda-lewō.The people in the village are celebrating.
Bnoun
feast, community ceremony
Dege mi ne deda-lewō merën li venie.We'll have a feast tomorrow in the village.
📘 The nature of the celebration itself depends on the occasion (traditional ceremony, religious celebration…), but in general such feasts include prayers, collective meals as well as dances.
dedavē ʈᶳəʈᶳaβe noun, relational
davedo what
3sgne dedavēne
1 – s.o.usual behaviour of ‹s.o.›, character, manner
Ne liek na n̄ih ne dedavēne pa nawë nie na gōp hia.I like her character, but I find her too skinny.
2 – figs.th.way, manner, fashion; nature of ‹s.th.›
Tuwtōw, nihe na lōlmerën ē ne dedavē lën̄.In olden days, they used to know a lot about the nature of winds.
dedavēgë dedavegë noun
way, manner; nature of ‹s.th.›
ne vegevage ē ne dedavēgë i huqeexplanations about the nature of initiation rituals (huqe)
Nihe ge iugëtuwē, ge mok ne dedavegë te vete lelōl.They had a meeting to plan the way they would go surfing.
dedēt ʈᶳəʈᶳet adjective
1 – low, of little height
Na heghag, hi të na dedēt?Is it high or low?
2 – figof inferior status; minor
ne pu dedēthierarchy of huqe ranksinferior ranks
Ne vot in na dedēt weren̄o!It's very cheap. [lit. the money of it is quite low]
antonymheghag
dege ʈᶳəɣə personal pronoun
<°ɣidaPNCV*kidaPOc*kita
First inclusive plural pronoun
Dege të g' ake hawe.We will dance.
Pia, deg' un pe nōk!Alright, let's drink now!
Li qen̄, noke vē me të dege wiēne pa kemi tategë!Last night, I came for us to have kava, but you guys were not there!
see-de
deh- ʈᶳəh dih- prefix
+ directionala prefix for directional particles, Eng. ‘-wards’
deh-rōwoutwards / seawards
dih-ilinwards / inland
dih-iagupwards / towards southeast
dih-iudownwards / towards northwest
taveligë deh-rōw me menegëwiha little bit further on the seaward side
SyntaxThis prefix allows directionals to take the place of adverbs. In some cases, it is optional: taveligë (dih-|fs{)il} ‘on the inland side’.
delgët ʈᶳəlɣɛt
<°daliɣatiMwotlapdɪlŋɛt
Apostverb
(do V) around, in a circular manner
Nihe ge hawe delgët.They danced in a circle.
Bpostverb, transitive
(do V) around ‹s.th.›
Ge vēn delgët ne veroqëtlēn̄we vage vehē.They (the dancers) went around the musicians' shelter several times.
delin̄ewōn ʈᶳəliŋəwon adjective
s.o.ears blocked (wōn)deaf
Nie na delin̄ewōn.He's deaf.
deln̄ē ʈᶳəlŋe delin̄ē noun, relational
PNCV*daliŋaPOc*taliŋa
1sgdeln̄ēk2pldeln̄ëmi
Anatomy
ears
Ne deln̄ëmi na wōn?Are you guys deaf [lit. your ears are blocked up]?
demdōem ʈᶳəmʈᶳoəm verb, transitive
duplicated form of dōem ‘think’
1 – think, have in mind
Tate demdōem luwō ē!Don't worry about it. [lit. don't think big]
seedōem
2 – be careful, beware, make sure (that not, të… mit)
Demdōem të ne gi mit da vë mōo nike!Beware the kava doesn't make you sick.
den̄din̄ ʈᶳəŋʈᶳiŋ verb, transitive
knock at ‹door›
Ni den̄din̄ ne hōg — remë mē të: “Mm?”He knocked at the door, and his mother said “Yes?”
den̄wē ʈᶳəŋʷe adverb
1 – today, in the future (vs. ne-den̄wē ‘today, past’)
Ne telefon tat ho hia wulë den̄wē?Won't the phone go wrong again today?
Dege g' ake ververiëg welë den̄wē 'k li lewate revrëv.We shall meet again today in the afternoon.
📘 Usually followed by the proximal deictic kike ~ ki ~ 'k, e.g. den̄wē 'k ‘today’.
2 – nowadays, in the present
Ne lilie mi Merawehih ve taqe wahe me den̄wē 'k.The cave of M. still exists today.
Den̄wē kike, nik' itë ne gehuh tekële na memi.You can see nowadays that certain coconut crabs are red.
derē ʈᶳəre noun, relational
1sgne derēk
Anatomy
blood
ne derē man̄kimonkeys' blood (nickname for red wine)
diën̄ ʈᶳiɛŋ noun
Anatomy
body hair
Nie na lili diën̄.He's very hairy.
dih- ʈᶳih prefix
a directional prefix
main entrydeh-
ditwëh ʈᶳitwɛh adjective
1 – food, drinksweet to taste; delicious
Ne liek na n̄ih varen̄wet pe nalōt pëg, mi ne tun̄ n̄ër: na ditwëh rēt!My favourite one is the breadfruit cake with almond coating: this is absolutely delicious!
antonymgōone
2 – figs.th.extremely pleasant
Të w' ake qōr, na ditwëh mēqu!You'll have really sweet dreams!
don̄e ʈᶳɔŋə verb, transitive
remove, pull out ‹nail+› from where it was stuck
Don̄e n' ēl, ne hil ne vēn hëm rëne.Pull out the nail which is holding that lamp.
Nie ve vin wë ne, ve don̄e ne mesor mēhe.They climbed up (the tree), and then pulled out their arrows.
dōem ʈᶳoəm dem verb, transitive
PNCV*domithink about+
Redupdemdōem
1 – think, believe (that, të)
Noke tate venēg, noke dem të na mino.I didn't steal it, I thought it was mine.
Pa noke dem të ne qëte tat ho sōw vete wë k'.But I thought taro could not grow in a place like this.
2 – + reported speechsay to o.s.
Pah wë ne, Merawehih ni dōem: “Noke të ke n̄wule pe ne.”At that moment, M. thought / said to himself: “Let's go back now.”
dōem luwō ʈᶳoəm lʉwo verb, indirect transitive
think bigshow consideration (for s.o./s.th., ē); care, worry about
Tate demdōem luwō ē!Don't worry about that.
dōem-mēve ʈᶳoəmmeβə
Averb, transitive
think heavyrespect, think highly of ‹s.o., s.th.›
Nike tate hemhemrë heqere temetēmetō; nike të we dōem mēve nihe.Don't laugh at old people; you should treat them with respect.
Bnoun
respect, consideration, esp. shown towards elders or certain relatives
dōome ʈᶳoɔmə deome dome noun
<°domia
noun corresponding to verb dōem ‘think’
1 – mind, intellect
Ne mēn' i tēhe si rak të ne dome mēke ni lëre.ghostsThe magic power of their souls can cause your mind to get lost. (i.e. can drive you crazy)
seelio
2 – idea, thought, way of thinking
Ne dōeme hia na daie nie si.He's having wicked ideas. [Bad thoughts have ‘done’ him]
3 – meaning (of a word); reason, purpose (of s.th.)
ne dōom' in / ne dōome piënethe meaning of this; the purpose of this
Herëlōl, ne deom' in, ne vet i iugëtuwē pi lelōl.place nameThe meaning of ‘Herëlōl’ is: a meeting place for wave-surfing (lelōl).
dōr ʈᶳor dō personal pronoun
°da-ru
First inclusive dual pronoun (you and me)
Na mi dōr.This is ours.
Dō / Dōr vēn ōr un ne gi?Shall we go drink kava?
dōt- ʈᶳot prefix
think, believe. Only attested as the first element of verbal compounds involving the notion of belief or thought
dōt-gë-vewiebelieve (s.th. to be true)
dōt-rakesebe surprised
dōt-vërgōrbe jealous
seedōemthink
dōt-gë-vewie ʈᶳotɣɛβəwiə verb, indirect transitive
think things truebelieve, give credence (to s.th., ē)
Tewë të nike vë tat dōt-gë-vewie ē, nike të w' ake gerage vēn w' itë ne melpēgë Merawehih ve rak si, w' ake dōt-gë-vewie ē.If you don't believe (this legend), then go up there and have a look at the traces left by M., this will make you believe it.
seevewietrue
dōt-rakese ʈᶳotrakəsə verb, intransitive
think up (?)be surprised, astonished (about, pi)
Noke na dōt-rakese piëne!I am really surprised about that.
seerōwtegitestartle
dōt-vërgōr ʈᶳotβɛrɣor verb, intransitive
be jealous, esp. about (pin) o.'s spouse
Nie na dōt-vërgōr pin leqëvine mē.He's jealous about his wife.
dule ʈᶳʉlə noun
A pair of sacred pedestals (ne dule) in the forest
PTB*dulename of a Spirit
Anthropology
sacred pedestal: a 3ft-high monolith representing a Spirit, historically erected near the entrance of a men's house (gemël)
Na ne, pe wë ke vë hawe ri dule, mowe ne, nëke na togin pe të ke huqeroh, të ke vēn wurëg ne gemël.The day when I'll be dancing on top of the sacred pedestal, that's when I'll be ready to become a great chief, to go through the initiation in the men's house.
seetegarsacred stone
dur1 ʈᶳʉr noun
external root of a tree, esp. of banyan
ne dur pakea banyan root
synonymtel
seegerehroot
dur2 ʈᶳʉr verb, transitive
drill ‹a hole›, esp. in a hard surface (wood, rock)
Gerage vin li lie ne, ni dur ne qerën̄ qerēn̄e sise ē ne vot.He climbed up above the cave, and began to drill a hole in the rock.
seegildig
dur lue verb, transitive
drill throughdrill a hole through ‹s.th.›, pierce
Ne lilie pe Merawehih ve dur lue si ve taqe wahe me den̄wē 'k.The cave M. drilled through still exists today.