See was in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"descendants": [
{
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"word": "was"
},
{
"descendants": [
{
"lang": "Scots",
"lang_code": "sco",
"word": "was"
},
{
"lang": "Scots",
"lang_code": "sco",
"word": "wis"
}
],
"lang": "Middle Scots",
"lang_code": "gmw-msc",
"word": "was"
},
{
"descendants": [
{
"lang": "Scots",
"lang_code": "sco",
"word": "was"
},
{
"lang": "Scots",
"lang_code": "sco",
"word": "wis"
}
],
"lang": "Middle Scots",
"lang_code": "gmw-msc",
"word": "wes"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "waas"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "was"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "waz"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "'as"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
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"raw_tags": [
"after Ich"
],
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}
],
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"etymology_templates": [
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"2": ":inh",
"3": "ang:wæs"
},
"expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*was\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wæs\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"was\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" }\" data-lang=\"enm\" data-title=\"was\">",
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{
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{
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{
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},
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},
{
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"1": "ang-mer",
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},
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"name": "m+"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "cwæþ"
},
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"name": "m+"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Old English wæs (first/third person singular indicative past of wesan), from Proto-West Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesan). from Proto-Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesaną).\nIn the West Midlands, forms with /ɛ/ reflect Kentish and Mercian Old English wes, reflecting the development of /æ/ to /e/ found in those dialects, while elsewhere they may reflect either vowel reduction, influence from es (“is”) or were, or raising before /s/. The forms with /ɔ/ characteristic of the Northwest Midland may reflect a development of /wɛ/ to /wɔ/ in certain environments like in twolfþe (“twelfth”) or a development of /wa/ to /wɔ/ in unstressed environments like in quod (“said”, Old English cwæþ); in the later language, this rounding is in the incipient stages of generalisation (but the Early Modern standard language still usually has /wæs/, /wæz/).",
"forms": [
{
"form": "whas",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wæs",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Early-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "waas",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Late-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "wasse",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Late-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "wass",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Ormulum"
]
},
{
"form": "wes",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wese",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wesse",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wase",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Northern",
"especially"
]
},
{
"form": "wos",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
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{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "35 37 29",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Middle English entries with etymon",
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}
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{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
15,
18
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],
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15,
18
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37,
40
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],
"english": "Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.",
"ref": "c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2), Ouchtirmunsye: Iohannes Ramsay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 431-434; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:",
"text": "Thyꝛwall þ[at] was þ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly",
"translation": "Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"form_of": [
{
"word": "been"
}
],
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"first/third-person singular past indicative of been"
],
"id": "en-was-enm-verb-1xWmrjiQ",
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},
{
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{
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"parents": [],
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],
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{
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],
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"second-person singular past indicative of been"
],
"id": "en-was-enm-verb-kUvy3TKF",
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[
"been",
"been#Middle_English"
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],
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"(dialectal) second-person singular past indicative of been"
],
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"form-of",
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},
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"parents": [],
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{
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"plural past indicative of been"
],
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"been",
"been#Middle_English"
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],
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"(dialectal) plural past indicative of been"
],
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"form-of",
"indicative",
"past",
"plural"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/was/"
},
{
"ipa": "/wɛs/",
"note": "especially West Midland or Early Scots"
},
{
"ipa": "/wɔs/",
"note": "especially Northwest Midland"
}
],
"word": "was"
}
{
"etymology_number": "2",
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},
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],
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"lang_code": "enm",
"pos": "pron",
"senses": [
{
"alt_of": [
{
"extra": "“whose”, genitive",
"word": "whos"
}
],
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "48 22 24 6",
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"name": "Middle English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"_dis": "41 21 22 16",
"kind": "other",
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}
],
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],
"id": "en-was-enm-pron-CGRvgVrZ",
"links": [
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"whos",
"whos#Middle_English:_whose"
]
],
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],
"word": "was"
}
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"Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic",
"Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
"Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic",
"Middle English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂wes-",
"Middle English terms inherited from Old English",
"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic",
"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
"Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic",
"Middle English verb forms",
"Pages using etymon with no ID",
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],
"descendants": [
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"word": "was"
},
{
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{
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"word": "was"
},
{
"lang": "Scots",
"lang_code": "sco",
"word": "wis"
}
],
"lang": "Middle Scots",
"lang_code": "gmw-msc",
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{
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],
"lang": "Middle Scots",
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},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "was"
},
{
"lang": "Yola",
"lang_code": "yol",
"word": "waz"
},
{
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},
{
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"lang_code": "yol",
"raw_tags": [
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"etymology_templates": [
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"3": "ang:wæs"
},
"expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*was\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wæs\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"was\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" }\" data-lang=\"enm\" data-title=\"was\">",
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{
"args": {
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"name": "inh"
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"1": "ang",
"2": "cwæþ"
},
"expansion": "Old English cwæþ",
"name": "m+"
}
],
"etymology_text": "From Old English wæs (first/third person singular indicative past of wesan), from Proto-West Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesan). from Proto-Germanic *was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesaną).\nIn the West Midlands, forms with /ɛ/ reflect Kentish and Mercian Old English wes, reflecting the development of /æ/ to /e/ found in those dialects, while elsewhere they may reflect either vowel reduction, influence from es (“is”) or were, or raising before /s/. The forms with /ɔ/ characteristic of the Northwest Midland may reflect a development of /wɛ/ to /wɔ/ in certain environments like in twolfþe (“twelfth”) or a development of /wa/ to /wɔ/ in unstressed environments like in quod (“said”, Old English cwæþ); in the later language, this rounding is in the incipient stages of generalisation (but the Early Modern standard language still usually has /wæs/, /wæz/).",
"forms": [
{
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"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
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"tags": [
"alternative",
"Early-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "waas",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Late-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "wasse",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Late-Middle-English"
]
},
{
"form": "wass",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Ormulum"
]
},
{
"form": "wes",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wese",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wesse",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
},
{
"form": "wase",
"tags": [
"alternative",
"Northern",
"especially"
]
},
{
"form": "wos",
"tags": [
"alternative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
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"expansion": "was",
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],
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"lang_code": "enm",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
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"Middle English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"bold_text_offsets": [
[
15,
18
]
],
"bold_translation_offsets": [
[
15,
18
],
[
37,
40
]
],
"english": "Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.",
"ref": "c. 1375, “Book VI”, in Iohne Barbour, De geſtis bellis et uirtutibus domini Roberti de Brwyß […] (The Brus, Advocates MS. 19.2.2), Ouchtirmunsye: Iohannes Ramsay, published 1489, folio 21, recto, lines 431-434; republished at Edinburgh: National Library of Scotland, c. 2010:",
"text": "Thyꝛwall þ[at] was þ[air] capitain / Wes þ[air] in þe baꝛgain slain / ⁊ off his men þe maſt p[ar]ty / Ϸe laue fled full affrayitly",
"translation": "Thirlwall, who was their commander / was killed there in the struggle / with the greatest part of his men; / the rest fled very frightened.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"form_of": [
{
"word": "been"
}
],
"glosses": [
"first/third-person singular past indicative of been"
],
"links": [
[
"been",
"been#Middle_English"
]
],
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]
},
{
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],
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{
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}
],
"glosses": [
"second-person singular past indicative of been"
],
"links": [
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"been",
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]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(dialectal) second-person singular past indicative of been"
],
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"form-of",
"indicative",
"past",
"second-person",
"singular"
]
},
{
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],
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"plural past indicative of been"
],
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"(dialectal) plural past indicative of been"
],
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"form-of",
"indicative",
"past",
"plural"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
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},
{
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"note": "especially West Midland or Early Scots"
},
{
"ipa": "/wɔs/",
"note": "especially Northwest Midland"
}
],
"word": "was"
}
{
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"name": "head"
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"lang_code": "enm",
"pos": "pron",
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{
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"extra": "“whose”, genitive",
"word": "whos"
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],
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}
Download raw JSONL data for was meaning in Middle English (7.0kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Middle English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-09 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (ccec6f1 and 4deed51). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.