و

From the Nabataean letter 𐢈 (l, “waw”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤅 (l, “waw”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓌉. See also Classical Syriac ܘ (l, “waw”), Hebrew ו (l, “vav”), Ancient Greek Υ (U), Latin F, Latin U, Latin V, Latin W and Latin Y.

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /waːw/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/, /uː/, silent (in Classical Arabic)
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/, /u(ː)/, /oː/ (in Arabic dialects and loanwords)

Letter

و / ‍و • (wāw) (no case)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Arabic alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ه (h) and followed by ي (y).

Symbol

و / ‍و • (wāw)

The sixth numeral symbol of the Arabic alphabet (traditional abjad order, used for list numbering), written in the Arabic script; preceded by ه (h) and followed by ز (z).

Etymology 2

From Proto-Semitic *wa. Cognate with Hebrew וְ־ (wə-).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (MSA) /wa/
IPA^(key): /wɪ/, /w/ (dialectal)
Audio: (file)

Conjunction

وَ • (wa)

and, a divider of words or clauses, particle of connection or continuation often unnecessary to render in translation, or able to be rendered as a comma or semi-colon
1. yet, but; a versatile conjunction determined by context
while, at the same time, and also do, simultaneously, to do this and to do that concurrently
لَا تَأْكُلِ السَّمَكَ وَتَشْرَبَ اللَّبَنَ.
lā taʔkuli s-samaka wa-tašraba l-labana.
Do not eat fish and drink dairy. (Proverb about illnesses coming from bad combinations; originally the supposed increased risk of contracting leprosy, a myth stemming from fish scales and the white color of milk.)

لَا تَنْهَ عَنْ خُلُقٍ وَتَأْتِيَ مِثْلَهُ
lā tanha ʕan ḵuluqin wa-taʔtiya miṯlahu
Do not say to stay away from a behavior, while you come with the likes of it. (Practice what you preach.)
particle of rephrasing or marking a clause of adposition; and in other words, that is to say, additionally called, i.e.
Introduces a clause describing the state or circumstance of the main action, often rendered as “while” or “when.” It requires a preceding noun or pronoun and often introduces nominal clauses.
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 4:43:
  لَا تَقْرَبُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْتُمْ سُكَارَى
  lā taqrabū ṣ-ṣalāta waʔantum sukārā
  Do not approach prayer while intoxicated
- 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 31:13:
  وَإِذْ قَالَ لُقْمَانُ لِٱبْنِهِ وَهُوَ يَعِظُهُ يَا بُنَيَّ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِٱللّٰهِۖ إِنَّ ٱلشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيمٌ
  waʔiḏ qāla luqmānu libnihi wahuwa yaʕiẓuhu yā bunayya lā tušrik bi-l-lāhi ʔinna š-širka laẓulmun ʕaẓīmun
  When Luqman said to his son, as he advised him: "O my son! Do not ascribe any partners to God. Polytheism is indeed a great injustice."
with, and also, additionally (with following accusative)
1. (mathematics) +, added to
particle denoting an oath (with following genitive)
وَٱللّٰهِ ― wa-llāhi ― By God; And I swear by God

Usage notes

Arabic conjunctions and prepositions that have only one letter, such as وَ (wa), are written as a prefix.
- The connection to the following word may however exceptionally be cut off by quotation marks enclosing foreign terms, emoji and similar intrusions of meta elements in the language of the internet.
- Sometimes editions of Arabic texts procured in Iran do not adhere to the rules, instead following the non-joining practice of Persian (va, o, “and”).
Arabic tends to use the conjunctions وَ (wa) and أَو (ʔaw, “or”) between every conjunct in a list, contrasting with the English tendency to use and and or only between the final two.
كُتُبٌ وَطُرُودٌ وَأَوْرَاقٌ
kutubun wa-ṭurūdun wa-ʔawrāqun
books, parcels, and papers
(literally, “books and parcels and papers”)

Derived terms

وَلٰكِنَّ (wa-lākinna), وَلٰكِنْ (wa-lākin)
وَلَا (wa-lā)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (MSA) /wa/
Audio: (file)

Preposition

وَ • (wa) (with a following accusative)

with
سِرْتُ وَطُلُوعَ الْفَجْرِ ― sirtu wa-ṭulūʕa l-fajri ― I got out with sunrise.

أَنَا وَإيّاكُم ― ʔanā wa-ʔiyyākum ― I with you

Etymology 4

Interfix

ـَوـ • (-aw-)

interfix used in forming nisba (relative) adjectives, particularly with short bases, inserted between the base noun and the ending ِـيّ (-iyy), e.g. لُغَوِيّ (luḡawiyy, “linguistic”), based on لُغَة (luḡa, “language”), or ثَانَوِيّ (ṯānawiyy, “secondary”), based on ثَانٍ (ṯānin, “second”).

Balti

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /w/, [w]

Letter

و (transliteration needed) (no case)

The forty-second letter of the Balti alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

Burushaski

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /w/, /oː/

Letter

و (w) (no case)

The forty-second letter of the Burushaski alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

Central Kurdish

Pronunciation

(name of letter) IPA^(key): [waw]
(phoneme) IPA^(key): [w, u]

Letter

و/ـوـ/ ‍وـ/ـو (w, u) (no case)

The thirtieth letter of the Central Kurdish alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ه (hi) and followed by وو (wu), pronounced [w] or [u].

Alternative forms

وە (we)

Conjunction

و (û)

and

Chagatai

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian (wa), from Middle Persian 𐭠𐭥𐭣 (ʾʿd /⁠ud⁠/), 𐭠𐭥 (ʾʿ /⁠u⁠/), from Old Persian 𐎢𐎫𐎠 (u-t-a /⁠utā⁠/, “and”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *(H)utá, *(H)u, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂u.

Conjunction

و • (wä)

and

Descendants

Uyghur:
Arabic script: ۋە (we)

Cyrillic script: вә (we)
Uzbek:
Cyrillic script: ва

Latin script: va

Egyptian Arabic

Pronunciation 1

IPA^(key): /w/, /uː/, /oː/, /u/

Etymology

From Arabic و (w).

Letter

و • (w, ū, ō, u) (no case)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Egyptian Arabic alphabet, called واو (wāw) and written in the Arabic script; preceded by ه (h) and followed by ي (y).

Pronunciation 2

IPA^(key): [-ʊ]

Etymology 1

Suffix

ـو • (-u)

Forms endearing, familiar forms of words ending in consonants or ـة (-a).
‎عمّ (ʕamm, “uncle”) + ‎ـو → ‎عمّو (ʕammu, “uncley”)

‎خالة (ḵāla, “aunt”) + ‎ـو → ‎خالتو (ḵaltu, “auntie”)

Etymology 2

Suffix

ـو • (-u)

alternative spelling of ـوا

Etymology 3

Suffix

ـو • (-u)

alternative spelling of ـه

Gulf Arabic

Etymology 1

From Arabic و (w).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (letter's name) /wāw/
IPA^(key): /w/, /uː/, /u/, /oː/

Letter

و • (w, ū, ō, u, wāw) (no case)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Gulf Arabic alphabet, called واو (wāw) and written in the Arabic script; preceded by هاء (hāʔ) and followed by ي (yāʔ).
The fourth numeral symbol of the Gulf Arabic alphabet (traditional abjad order, used for list numbering), written in the Arabic script.
(colloquial) alternative form of واو (wāw, “expression of amazement”)

Etymology 2

From Arabic و (w).

Pronunciation

(pausa) IPA^(key): /uː/
(before consonants) IPA^(key): /u/
(before vowels) IPA^(key): /w/

Conjunction

و • (ū, u, w)

and
by (in swears and oaths) [+proper or definite noun]

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-oː/

Suffix

ـو • (-ō)

A suffix that is attached to given names that shows very familiar endearment or slight insult
‎حوراء (ḥawrāʔ, “Hawra (female given name)”) + ‎ـو → ‎حوراءو/حوراؤو (ḥawrāʔō)

‎فهد (fahad, “Fahad (male given name)”) + ‎ـو → ‎فهدو (fahdō)

‎سلوى (salwa, “Salwa (female given name)”) + ‎ـو → ‎سلوو (salwō)

Hijazi Arabic

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /waːw/
(phonemes): IPA^(key): /w/, /uː/, /oː/, /u/ (word-final)

Letter

و • (wāw) (no case)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Hijazi Arabic alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ه (hāʔ) and followed by ي (yāʔ).

Etymology 2

From Arabic وَ (wa, “and”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /u/, /w-/

Conjunction

و • (u- or w-)

and

Kashmiri

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /waːw/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/, /oː/

Letter

و • (v) (no case)

The thirty-ninth letter of the Kashmiri alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ن and followed by ہ.

Kazakh

Alternative scripts
Arabic	و
Cyrillic	О, о/Ө, ө
Latin	O, o/Ö, ö

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /waw/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /o/ (back)
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɵ/ (front)

Letter

و • (o, ö) (no case, Cyrillic equivalent О or о or Ө or ө)

The twenty-fourth letter of the Kazakh alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ھ and followed by ۇ.

Usage notes

Represents the back vowel phoneme /o/, unless a small ء (hamza) was placed in the beginning of the word. In Kazakh the Hamza marks that all vowels in the following word are fronted. If و is the first letter and is representing a front vowel, it is combined with the hamza and the varient ٶ is used.

Malay

Malay Wikipedia has an article on:

و

Wikipedia ^ms

Pronunciation

(Name of letter) IPA^(key): [wau̯]
(Phoneme, Consonant) IPA^(key): [w]
(Phoneme, Consonant, Syllable initial, obsolete) IPA^(key): [w], [v]
(Phoneme, Consonant, Syllable final, obsolete) IPA^(key): [w], [f]
(Phoneme, Vowel) IPA^(key): [u], [o], [ɔ]
(Phoneme, Vowel, Closed ultima) IPA^(key): [o], [ɔ]

Letter

و / ‍و (no case)

The thirtieth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

North Levantine Arabic

Etymology 1

Inherited from Arabic وَ (wa, “and”). Some derived terms additionally reflect its Arabic function of introducing an oath.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /w/; [u, o] (before a single consonant); [wə] (before multiple consecutive consonants)

Conjunction

و • (w)

and
1. (optional) Introduces the predicate in certain set constructions
  من إنتي وصغيرة وما بتحبي البامية
  min ʔinti w zḡīre w ma bitḥibbi l-bāmye
  Ever since you were little you haven't liked okra
  (literally, “Since back when you were little and you don't like okra”)
  
  كل شي وإلو محلو
  kill šī w ʔilo maḥallo
  Everything has its place
  (literally, “Every thing and it has its place”)
while, with
ما فيني ركّز والضو هيك بوجّي قوم اطفيلي ياه
ma fīni rakkiz wiḍ-ḍaww hēk b wijji ʔūm ṭfīli yā
I can't focus with the light in my face like that, go turn it off for me
[with preceding subject pronoun] while, back when
روحي لحّقي صلاتك أنا وعم حضّر الغدا (Islam)
rūḥi laḥḥʔi ṣalātik ʔana w ʕam ḥaḍḍir l-ḡada
Go get in your prayers while I get lunch ready

نحنا وبالسنوي كل يوم نتروق مناقيش من عند هالفرن
niḥna w bis-sanawi kill yōm nitrawwaʔ mnāʔīš min ʕind hal-furn
Back when we were in high school we'd have man'oushes from that bakery for breakfast every single day

من إنتي وصغيرة وما بتحبي البامية
min ʔinti w zḡīre w ma bitḥibbi l-bāmye
Ever since you were little you haven't liked okra
(literally, “Since back when you were little and you haven't liked okra”)

Derived terms

إلا و (ʔilla w, “when suddenly”)
وأير (wʔēr, wʔayr, “for real”) (vulgar)
وحياة (wiḥyāt, “(I swear) by the life of”)
وزبر (wzabr, “for real”) (vulgar)
ولا (wlā, “you little...”) (vulgar)
ولك (wlak, “look here; you little...”) (vulgar)
وللا (walla, willa, “or”)
ونص (w nuṣṣ, “and then some”, literally “and a half”)

Etymology 2

Etymology 2 sense 2, فَوْعَل (fawʕal; CawCaC), may be generalized from denominal verbs whose و (w) is part of the morphology: consider كَوْبَس (kawbas, “to have a nightmare”), denominal from كَابُوس (kābūs, “nightmare”), where the و (w) regularly represents the ا (ā) of the noun.

Etymology 2 sense 1, فَعْوَل (faʕwal; CaCwaC), may be metathesized from this or it may be from another source.

Infix

و • (-w-)

Extension for triliteral roots, inserted between the first and second radicals, that imparts a diminutive, iterative, or frequentative meaning: فَعْوَل (faʕwal; CaCwaC)
(less productive) Extension for triliteral roots, inserted between the second and third radicals, that imparts an intensive meaning^[1]: فَوْعَل (fawʕal; CawCaC)

Derived terms

بورد (bawrad, “to cool off”)
دعوس (daʕwas, “to step all over”)
شولح (šawlaḥ, “to throw, toss”)
عومص (ʕawmaṣ, “to squint”)
نتوش (natwaš, “to take a little bite”)
نقود (naʔwad, “to steal a little bite”)

Etymology 3

Suffix

ـو • (-o/-u) m

alternative spelling of ـه after a consonant

References

^ أَنِيس خُورِي فْرَيْحَة [Anis Khuri Frayha, Anis Freiha] (August 1935), “و”, in Quadriliterals from the dialect of Ras al-Matn (Lebanon) (Ph. D. Thesis), University of Chicago, Illinois, published 1938, →OCLC, Fawʿal, page 31

Old Ruthenian

Letter

و • (v) (no case)^[1] (Middle Belarusian Arabica)

A letter of the Old Ruthenian alphabet, written in the Arabic script.

References

^ Antonovich (1968), page 192: “و”

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology 1

Letter

و • (vav) (no case)

A letter of the Ottoman Turkish alphabet.

Etymology 2

From Arabic وَ (wa).

Conjunction

و • (ve)

and

Usage notes

V. H. Hagopian writes in Ottoman-Turkish Conversation-Grammar (1907): "The common people never use it in speech; its use is proper to books and educated people."

Descendants

Turkish: ve

References

Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “ve”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
Redhouse, James W. (1890), “و”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 2119

Pashto

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /wɑw/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/

Letter

و • (wâw) (no case)

The thirty-eighth letter of the Pashto alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ڼ and followed by ه.

Persian

Pronunciation

(Dari) IPA^(key): /wɑːw/
(Iran) IPA^(key): /vɑːv/

Letter

و / وـ / ـوـ / ـو • (vâv) (no case)

The thirtieth letter of the Persian alphabet, called and written in the Arabic script; preceded by ن and followed by ه.

Etymology 1

Both inherited from Middle Persian and borrowed from Arabic, hence the multiple pronunciations:

Pronunciation 1: From Middle Persian 𐭠𐭥𐭣 (ʾʿd /⁠ud⁠/), 𐭠𐭥 (ʾʿ /⁠u⁠/); from Old Persian 𐎢𐎫𐎠 (u-t-a /⁠utā⁠/, “and”), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *(H)utá, from *(H)u, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂u.
Pronunciation 2: From Arabic وَ (wa), from Proto-Semitic *wa. Also the etymology of the written form. Cognate with Biblical Hebrew וְ־ (wa-), Ge'ez ወ- (wä-), and Classical Syriac ܘ- (wə-).

Pronunciation

(Pronunciation 1)

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈ‿u/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [‿ʊ]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [‿ʊ]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [‿u]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [‿o]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [‿u]

Readings
Classical reading^?	-u
Dari reading^?	-u
Iranian reading^?	-o
Tajik reading^?	-u

Audio (Iran): (file)

(Pronunciation 2)

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ˈwa/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [wä]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [wä]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [wä]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʋæ]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [vä]

Readings
Classical reading^?	wa
Dari reading^?	wa
Iranian reading^?	ʋa
Tajik reading^?	va

Both pronunciations are generally interchangeable, with pronunciation 1 being more common in context and pronunciation 2 being more common in formal speech, after a pause and/or for emphasis.

Conjunction

و • (wa, u / va, o) (Tajik spelling ва, or у)

and
- 21st century, Mohammad Farrokhi Yazdi
  گر چه جیب و جام من از مال و مِی تُهیست.
  Gar če jib o jām-e man az māl o mey tohist.
  Although my pocket and my cup are empty of money and wine.

Usage notes

In the contemporary spelling of Persian, the و (va) conjunction is not joined to the following word. However, the practice of joining the conjunction to the following word, as it is in Arabic, was not uncommon in early classical texts.

Descendants

→ Hindustani:
Hindi: व (va)

Urdu: و (va, o)
→ Marathi: व (va)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

رو (ro) (between vowels)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /o/

Particle

و • (-o)

(in Iran) colloquial form of (rā)
― dasteto boland kon. ― Raise your hand.

Sindhi

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ʋaːʋ/, /vaːv/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /ʋ/, /w/, /v/, /uː/

Letter

و • (vāv) (no case, Devanagari equivalent व, Khudabadi equivalent 𑋛)

The forty-ninth letter of the Sindhi alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ڻ and followed by ه.

South Levantine Arabic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /w/, [w]
Audio (Ramallah): (file)

Etymology 1

From Arabic وَ (wa).

Conjunction

و • (w-)

and
when, while
Synonym: لما (lamma)

مبيّن إنّك مبسوط وإنتا بتعلّم.
mbayyen ʔinnak mabsūṭ w-inta bitʕallem
It's clear that you're happy when you're teaching.

Usage notes

The pronunciation varies by phonological context. It becomes u- before a single consonant (optional if the preceding word ends in a vowel) and we- before a consonant cluster.

Etymology 2

Suffix

ـو • (-o) m

alternative spelling of ـه (“he, him, his”) after a consonant

Etymology 3

Suffix

ـو • (-o)

attached to kinship terms in order to form terms of endearment
جدّ (jidd, “grandfather”) → جدّو (jiddo, “grandpa”)

عمّة (ʕamme, “aunt”) → عمتو (ʕamto, “auntie”)

Tunisian Arabic

Conjunction

و (u)

and
حَاجْتِي بْقْلَمْ وكَرّاسَة ― ḥājtī b-qlam u karrāsa ― I need a pencil and a copy-book.

Urdu

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

(letter name): (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʋɑːʋ/
(phoneme): (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʋ/, /uː/, /oː/, /ɔː/

Letter

و • (vāv) (no case)

The thirty-third letter of the Urdu alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ں and followed by ہ.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Classical Persian (wa, u).

Pronunciation

(Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʋə/, /oː/

Conjunction

و • (va or o) (Hindi spelling व)

and

Ushojo

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /wɑːw/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w~v/

Letter

و (wāw) (no case)

The thirty-ninth letter of the Ushojo alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by ن and followed by ہ.

Conjunction

و (va)

or

Yoruba

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /wí/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/

Letter

و (transliteration needed) (no case, Latin equivalent W or w)

The twenty-fourth letter of the Yoruba alphabet, written in the Arabic script; preceded by اُ and followed by ي.

[1] أَنِيس خُورِي فْرَيْحَة [Anis Khuri Frayha, Anis Freiha] (August 1935), “و”, in Quadriliterals from the dialect of Ras al-Matn (Lebanon) (Ph. D. Thesis), University of Chicago, Illinois, published 1938, →OCLC, Fawʿal, page 31

[2] Antonovich (1968), page 192: “و”

[1]