English word origin

Etymology of ba

Borrowed from Egyptian bꜣ, G53-Z1

4 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A being's soul or personality, represented as a bird-headed figure, which survives after death but must be sustained with offerings of food.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Egyptian bꜣ, G53-Z1

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionbꜣegy

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "egy",
        "3": "bꜣ"
      },
      "expansion": "Egyptian bꜣ"
    },
    {
      "name": "egy-h",
      "args": {
        "1": "G53-Z1"
      },
      "expansion": "G53-Z1"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bꜣ",
      "bꜣ#Egyptian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A being's soul or personality, represented as a bird-headed figure, which survives after death but must be sustained with offerings of food."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Egyptian"
      ],
      "recordId": "7a8dc7131f72480382a453429124554e2b742353eb4721cbffb8d3973d62e8a3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "923dc0f3278fac148e992a7a2a027520b1cfd7fed0270bc4f63c88d823ecda70",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 21275
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Father, baba.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

The sound is very commonly made by infants, and is interpreted by parents as a reference to themselves.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Father, baba."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial",
        "singular-normally"
      ],
      "recordId": "3cc3b2d3d14be097087909a6f0786325f0ce4ae020d3823380c708e91fda05a7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "c18897654348a48090f2ba0b4b5e7d6b705cc8a25d5c97afed653a32394bea2b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 21276
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

A medieval football game played in parts of Scotland around Christmas and New Year.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "ba game"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A medieval football game played in parts of Scotland around Christmas and New Year."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical",
        "singular-normally",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "4346187db33e7c97ab2dc9a4315231150d89a1a6952a6c3e9fdeb641662394f2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f6bf536b7b7bc73e07fc195fd23efecc53d989d0e0ec63373a15e985bf69b43c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 21277
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  ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗

particle

Used to indicate a tentative suggestion. · Used to indicate confident speculation.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mandarin 吧 (ba).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "吧"
      },
      "expansion": "吧 (ba)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "吧",
      "吧#Chinese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "particle",
      "glosses": [
        "Used to indicate a tentative suggestion.",
        "Used to indicate confident speculation."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Manglish",
        "Singlish",
        "singular-normally"
      ],
      "recordId": "d8fdf6e5fd0b67ed688479d55bfb236b4ead480b0acd1077dfa5865fb6cfb329",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 21279
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  ],
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ba →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-YmE