ze
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "ze"
Languages (33)
English
Albanian • Aukan • Azerbaijani • Basque • Central Nahuatl • Cimbrian • Czech • Dutch • Gun • Haitian Creole • Ido • Japanese • Juba Arabic • Kashubian • Lower Sorbian • Luxembourgish • Mandarin • Middle English • Middle High German • Northern Qiang • Old Czech • Old Polish • Polish • Saterland Frisian • Silesian • Turkish • Turkmen • White Hmong • Xhosa • Yola • Zazaki • Zulu
Page categories
Albanian • Aukan • Azerbaijani • Basque • Central Nahuatl • Cimbrian • Czech • Dutch • Gun • Haitian Creole • Ido • Japanese • Juba Arabic • Kashubian • Lower Sorbian • Luxembourgish • Mandarin • Middle English • Middle High German • Northern Qiang • Old Czech • Old Polish • Polish • Saterland Frisian • Silesian • Turkish • Turkmen • White Hmong • Xhosa • Yola • Zazaki • Zulu
Page categories
English
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Article
ze
- Nonstandard spelling of the (usually signifying a foreign accent, often French or German).
- Synonym: za
- 1992, Tristan Jones, Adrift, page 257:
- Then one French-American sous-chef, still in his white kitchen gear, climbed down from the cockpit, where he had been inspecting the cabin, peering inside, murmuring, "wonderfool–wonderfool, ze workmansheep!"
- 2000 July 8, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], “The Yule Ball”, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter; 4), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 364:
- At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we ’ave ice sculptures all around ze Dining Chamber at Chreetsmas. Zey do not melt, of course … zey are like ’uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place.
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ze
- (rare, nonstandard) a gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, equivalent to singular they, and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
- 1996 June, Caitlin Sullivan with Bornstein, Kate, Nearly Roadkill: an Infobahn erotic adventure, New York: Serpent's Tail, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC PS3569.U3449 N43 1996, page 10:
- But I do know what sex ze is. It used to influence me. But now I talk to hir like a normal person. I mean, without thinking about what ze is.
- 1997 December 18, Kate Bornstein, My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely, London, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, LCC HQ1075.B69 1998, page 130:
- A case in point is Tula, a transgendered woman who for years lived well as a model and actress until ze was outed in both national and international media.
- 2010 October 12, Erika Lopez, The Girl Must Die: A Monster Girl Memoir, Hicken, Jeffrey, San Francisco: Monster Girl Media, →ISBN, →LCCN, page 143:
- Ze changed hir name to one of those New Testament names, and re-fashioned hirself into a soft, puffy, half-finished hermaphrodite nicknamed, The Pop n' Fresh Doe.
Usage notes
- The genderqueer community is the primary proponent of ze. One refers to a person with ze and hir or zir typically (a) when their gender is unknown, and one wishes to avoid assuming their gender, or (b) when they are neither male nor female in gender, making he and she (and also either/or terms like s/he or (s)he) inappropriate and potentially hurtful.
Synonyms
Coordinate terms
See also
Etymology 3
Noun
ze (plural zes)
- The name of the Cyrillic script letter З / з.
Anagrams
Albanian
Etymology
A Gheg dialect word, of unclear origin.
Noun
ze f (plural ze, definite zeja, definite plural zejet)
Related terms
Aukan
Etymology
Noun
ze
References
- Aukan-English Dictionary (SIL)
Azerbaijani
Pronunciation
Noun
ze
- The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.
See also
Basque
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -e
- Hyphenation: ze
Etymology 1
Noun
ze inan
- The name of the Latin-script letter C/c.
Declension
indefinite | singular | plural | |
---|---|---|---|
absolutive | ze | zea | zeak |
ergative | zek | zeak | zeek |
dative | zeri | zeari | zeei |
genitive | zeren | zearen | zeen |
comitative | zerekin | zearekin | zeekin |
causative | zerengatik | zearengatik | zeengatik |
benefactive | zerentzat | zearentzat | zeentzat |
instrumental | zez | zeaz | zeez |
inessive | zetan | zean | zeetan |
locative | zetako | zeko | zeetako |
allative | zetara | zera | zeetara |
terminative | zetaraino | zeraino | zeetaraino |
directive | zetarantz | zerantz | zeetarantz |
destinative | zetarako | zerako | zeetarako |
ablative | zetatik | zetik | zeetatik |
partitive | zerik | — | — |
prolative | zetzat | — | — |
Derived terms
- ze hautsi (“cee with cedilla”)
See also
Etymology 2
Conjunction
ze
- (Biscay) because
- 1596, Joseba Lakarra, editor, Refranes y sentencias [Sayings and sentences] (Euskararen Lekukoak; 19), Bilbao: Eusklatzaindia, published 1996, →ISBN, page 248:
- Adi adi ce Jaungoycoa dagoc adi.
- [Adi adi, ze Jaungoikoa dagok adi.]
- Be careful, because God is watching.
- (obsolete) than
- 1596, Joseba Lakarra, editor, Refranes y sentencias [Sayings and sentences] (Euskararen Lekukoak; 19), Bilbao: Eusklatzaindia, published 1996, →ISBN, page 262:
- Nayago dot to bat, çe amaui emon deyat.
- [Naiago dot to bat, ze amabi emon deiat.]
- I prefer a "take one" over twelve "I'll give you one".
- (Biscay, Gipuzkoa) Introduces a subordinate clause expressing a result, consequence or effect; that
- Synonym: ezen
- c. 1567, Joan Perez de Lazarraga, “Doncellachoa, orain çaoz...”, in Lazarraga Eskuizkribuaren edizioa eta azterketa. II. Testua, EHU Press, published 2020, →ISBN:
- Ala çara mudaduco, ce / ez çau inorc eçautuco
- [Ala zara mudaduko, ze / ez zau inork ezautuko]
- You'll change so much that / nobody will recognize you
- (archaic, possibly obsolete) Introduces a clause that is the subject or object of a verb; that
Etymology 3
Determiner
ze (preposed, interrogative)
- Colloquial form of zer (“what”)
Pronoun
ze (interrogative)
- Colloquial form of zer (“what”)
Further reading
- “ze”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
- “ze”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005
Central Nahuatl
< 0 | 1 | 2 > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : ze Ordinal : inik ze | ||
Etymology
Cognate to Classical Nahuatl ce
Numeral
ze
- one.
Cimbrian
Etymology 1
From Middle High German si(e) (“they”), merged from Old High German sie m pl, sio f pl, siu n pl, from Proto-Germanic *īz m, *ijôz f, *ijō n, the nominative plural forms of *iz. Cognate with German sie, Dutch zij.
Pronoun
ze
- (Sette Comuni) they
- Synonym: zandare
Inflection
nominative | accusative | dative | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st person singular | ich | mich | miar | |
2nd person singular |
familiar | du | dich | diar |
polite | iart | ach | òich | |
3rd person singular |
m | èar, ar | in, en | iime |
f | zi, ze | iar | ||
n | es, is | es, 's | iime | |
1st person plural | bar, bandare | zich | izàndarn | |
2nd person plural | iart, iartàndare, artàndare | òich, ach | ogàndarn | |
3rd person plural | ze, zòi, zandare | zich | innàndarn |
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
Pronoun
ze
- Alternative form of zi (“she”)
References
- “ze” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Czech
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze [with genitive]
- Alternative form of z (“from, out of”)
Usage notes
- The more usual form is z, while ze is used before words starting with s, z and certain consonant clusters.
Further reading
Dutch
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ze
- unstressed form of zij (feminine singular subject)
- Daar zit ze. ― There she is sitting.
- unstressed form of zij (plural subject)
- Daar zitten ze. ― There they are sitting.
- unstressed form of haar (feminine singular object)
- Ik zie ze. ― I see her.
- unstressed form of hen, hun (plural object)
- Ik zie ze. ― I see them.
Usage notes
- In the Netherlands, ze is used as a reduced form of haar chiefly when referring to feminine inanimate things:
- Ik wist de waarheid niet en ik wilde ze ook niet weten.
- I didn’t know the truth and didn’t wish to know it either.
- It is often avoided by using the reduced form h'r or the masculine form hem or the neuter form het or, in formal style, the full form haar.
- In Belgium, ze is usual as a reduced form of haar even when referring to persons (as in the example further above).
- Ze is used in certain short and idiomatic phrases in the imperative wishing one good luck, the most common by far being werk ze (“good luck at work!”).
Declension
subject | object | possessive | reflexive | genitive5 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | full | unstr. | pred. | ||
1st person | ik | 'k1 | mij | me | mijn | m'n1 | mijne | me | mijner, mijns |
2nd person | jij | je | jou | je | jouw | je | jouwe | je | jouwer, jouws |
2nd person archaic or regiolectal | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws |
2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich7 | uwer, uws |
3rd person masculine | hij | ie1 | hem | 'm1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns |
3rd person feminine | zij | ze | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | haar | h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 | hare | zich | harer, haars |
3rd person neuter | het | 't1 | het | 't1 | zijn | z'n1 | zijne | zich | zijner, zijns |
plural | |||||||||
1st person | wij | we | ons | – | ons, onze2 | – | onze | ons | onzer, onzes |
2nd person | jullie | je | jullie | je | jullie | je | – | je | – |
2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 | gij | ge | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u | uwer, uws |
2nd person formal | u | – | u | – | uw | – | uwe | u, zich7 | uwer, uws |
3rd person | zij | ze | hen3, hun4 | ze | hun | – | hunne | zich | hunner, huns |
1) Not as common in written language. 2) Inflected as an adjective. 3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative). 4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions. 6) To differentiate from the singular gij, gelle (object form elle) and variants are commonly used colloquially in Belgium. Archaic forms are gijlieden and gijlui ("you people"). |
7) Zich is preferred if the reflexive pronoun immediately follows the subject pronoun u, e.g. Meldt u zich aan! 'Log in!', and if the subject pronoun u is used with a verb form that is identical with the third person singular but different from the informal second person singular, e.g. U heeft zich aangemeld. 'You have logged in.' Only u can be used in an imperative if the subject pronoun is not overt, e.g. Meld u aan! 'Log in!', where u is the reflexive pronoun. Otherwise, both u and zich are equally possible, e.g. U meldt u/zich aan. 'You log in.' |
Derived terms
Descendants
Gun
Pronunciation
Verb
zé
- to take
Haitian Creole
Etymology
From French œufs (“eggs”). In French, the plural form œufs is commonly preceded by a determiner- such as aux, les or mes- whose final s or x is pronounced /z/ before vowels (and is otherwise silent). As a result, œufs was reanalyzed in Haitian Creole as beginning with /z/.
Pronunciation
Noun
ze
Ido
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
ze (plural ze-i)
- The name of the Latin script letter Z/z.
See also
Japanese
Romanization
ze
Juba Arabic
Etymology
From Sudanese Arabic زي (zay), probably from Arabic زِيّ (ziyy, “clothing, way of dressing, appearance”).
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
References
Kashubian
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z.
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z (both meanings; used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)
- Stej bratš ze sotšu. ― They are brother and sister (literally, “brother with sister”)
Luxembourgish
Alternative forms
- zu (for the adverb, when stressed)
Etymology
From Middle High German ze, from Old High German zi, from Proto-Germanic *ta, reduced form of *tō, whence Luxembourgish zu and zou.
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- to (with a following infinitive)
- De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.
- The coffee is too hot to drink.
Adverb
ze
- too (more than enough, when unstressed)
- De Kaffi ass ze waarm fir ze drénken.
- The coffee is too hot to drink.
Mandarin
Romanization
ze
- Nonstandard spelling of zē.
- Nonstandard spelling of zé.
- Nonstandard spelling of zè.
- Nonstandard spelling of zê̄.
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English sǣ.
Noun
ze
- Alternative form of see (“sea”)
Descendants
- English: sea
Middle High German
Preposition
ze (+ dative)
- Alternative form of zuo
Northern Qiang
Etymology
From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *rəj.
Pronunciation
Noun
ze
References
Zhou Facheng, Sun Hongkai (2010) 汉羌词典 [Chinese–Qiang dictionary], Beijing: 中国文联出版社, →ISBN
Old Czech
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z.
Old Polish
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z
Polish
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polish z, from Proto-Slavic *jьz.
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z
Particle
ze
- (colloquial) Alternative form of z
Usage notes
See z.
Further reading
Saterland Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian [Term?], from Proto-West Germanic *sī. Cognates include West Frisian sy and German sie.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
ze
See also
References
Silesian
Pronunciation
Preposition
ze
- Alternative form of z
Turkish
Etymology 1
Noun
ze (definite accusative zeyi, plural zeler)
- The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.
See also
Etymology 2
Noun
ze
- Letter of the Arabic alphabet: ز
Turkmen
Noun
ze (definite accusative [please provide], plural [please provide])
- The name of the Latin-script letter Z/z.
White Hmong
Pronunciation
Adjective
ze
Xhosa
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Relative
-ze?
Inflection
modifier | copulative | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
positive | negative | positive | negative | |
1st singular | endize | endingeze | ndize | andize |
2nd singular | oze | ongeze | uze | awuze |
1st plural | esize | esingeze | size | asize |
2nd plural | enize | eningeze | nize | anize |
class 1 | oze | ongeze | uze | akaze |
class 2 | abaze | abangeze | baze | abaze |
class 3 | oze | ongeze | uze | awuze |
class 4 | eze | engeze | ize | ayize |
class 5 | elize | elingeze | lize | alize |
class 6 | aze | angeze | aze | awaze |
class 7 | esize | esingeze | size | asize |
class 8 | ezize | ezingeze | zize | azize |
class 9 | eze | engeze | ize | ayize |
class 10 | ezize | ezingeze | zize | azize |
class 11 | oluze | olungeze | luze | aluze |
class 14 | obuze | obungeze | buze | abuze |
class 15 | okuze | okungeze | kuze | akuze |
class 17 | okuze | okungeze | kuze | akuze |
Yola
Verb
ze
- Alternative form of zee (“to see”)
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 81
Zazaki
Adverb
ze
Zulu
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Relative
-zé
Inflection
modifier | copulative | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
positive | negative | positive | negative | |
1st singular | engize | engingeze | ngize | angize |
2nd singular | oze | ongeze | uze | awuze |
1st plural | esize | esingeze | size | asize |
2nd plural | enize | eningeze | nize | anize |
class 1 | oze | ongeze | uze | akaze |
class 2 | abaze | abangeze | baze | abaze |
class 3 | oze | ongeze | uze | awuze |
class 4 | eze | engeze | ize | ayize |
class 5 | elize | elingeze | lize | alize |
class 6 | aze | angeze | aze | awaze |
class 7 | esize | esingeze | size | asize |
class 8 | ezize | ezingeze | zize | azize |
class 9 | eze | engeze | ize | ayize |
class 10 | ezize | ezingeze | zize | azize |
class 11 | oluze | olungeze | luze | aluze |
class 14 | obuze | obungeze | buze | abuze |
class 15 | okuze | okungeze | kuze | akuze |
class 17 | okuze | okungeze | kuze | akuze |
Derived terms
- ize
- ubuze
Etymology 2
From -za (“to come”).
Pronunciation
Verb
-ze
- (auxiliary, in positive) until [with subjunctive]
- Sizolinda baze bafike.
- We will wait until they arrive.
- Sakhuluma waze wafika uthisha.
- We talked until the teacher arrived.
- (auxiliary, in positive, past) used in exclamations [with subjunctive clause]
- Waze wamuhle umakoti!
- Oh how beautiful the bride is!
- (auxiliary, in negative, present) never [with potential]
- Angize ngingadla inyama.
- I never eat meat.
- (auxiliary, in negative, past) never [with subjunctive]
- Akazange agibele ihhashi.
- He has never ridden a horse.
Inflection
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
References
C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “-ze”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-ze”
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