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Vara in Scrabble and Meaning

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What does vara mean? Is vara a Scrabble word?

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Scrabble® and Words with Friends® points for vara

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Is vara a Scrabble word?

Yes. The word vara is a Scrabble US word. The word vara is worth 7 points in Scrabble:

V4A1R1A1

Is vara a Scrabble UK word?

Yes. The word vara is a Scrabble UK word and has 7 points:

V4A1R1A1

Is vara a Words With Friends word?

Yes. The word vara is a Words With Friends word. The word vara is worth 8 points in Words With Friends (WWF):

V5A1R1A1

Our tools

Valid words made from Vara

Results

4-letter words (1 found)

VARA,

3-letter words (3 found)

AVA,RAV,VAR,

2-letter words (2 found)

AA,AR,

You can make 6 words from vara according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

Definitions and meaning of vara

vara

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish and Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”).

Noun

vara (plural varas)

  1. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of length, equivalent to about 83.7 cm.
    Synonyms: Spanish rod, Spanish ell, Spanish yard, (Spanish contexts) rod, ell, yard
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄8 vara) coto, (1⁄4 vara) palmo, (1⁄3 vara) pie, (1⁄2 vara) codo, (1+2⁄3 pies) Spanish pace, estado, braza, (2 varas) toesa, (4 varas) estadal, (50 varas) cordel, (5,000 varas) legua
  2. (historical) A traditional Portuguese unit of length, equivalent to about 1.1 m.
    Synonyms: Portuguese rod, Portuguese ell, Portuguese yard, (Portuguese contexts) rod, ell, yard
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄40 vara) polegada, (1⁄5 vara) palmo, (3⁄10 vara) Portuguese foot, (3⁄5 vara) covado, (English equivalents to the vara) yard, rod, ell, (1+1⁄2 varas) passo, (1+4⁄5 varas) toesa, (2 varas) braça
  3. (historical) A traditional Spanish unit of area, equivalent to about 0.7 m².
    Coordinate terms: (100 varas) fanega, (10,000 varas) manzana, (1,000,000 varas) labor

See also

Anagrams

  • avar, arva, Avar

Albanian

Verb

vara

  1. first-person singular aorist indicative of var

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central) [ˈba.ɾə]
  • IPA(key): (Balearic) [ˈva.ɾə]
  • IPA(key): (Valencia) [ˈva.ɾa]

Noun

vara f (plural vares)

  1. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod, ell, or yard, a traditional unit of length
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄3 vara) peu, (1+2⁄3 varas) pas, passa, (2 varas) braça

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “vara”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], 2007 April
  • “vara”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
  • “vara” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
  • “vara” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Estonian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *warō, compare Swedish vara, German Ware, English ware. Cognate to Finnish vara and Livonian varā.

Noun

vara (genitive vara, partitive vara)

  1. property, estate, goods; things belonging to a person or organisation
Inflection
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Derived from Proto-Finnic *varas, borrowed from Proto-Baltic *vāras, compare Lithuanian voras (“old”). Cognate to Finnish varhain.

Adverb

vara (comparative varem)

  1. early
    Antonym: hilja
Derived terms

Faroese

Etymology

Derived from Middle Low German waren.

Verb

vara (third person singular past indicative vardi, third person plural past indicative vart, supine vart)

  1. to take, last, require (about time)

Conjugation

Fijian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Oceanic *paraq from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *para (compare with Ilocano pára).

Noun

vara

  1. coconut heart or coconut apple, i.e. spongy cotyledon from a sprouting coconut

References

  • Gatty, Ronald (2009) “vara”, in Fijian-English Dictionary, Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 292
  • Ross, Malcolm D., Pawley, Andrew, Osmond, Meredith (2008) The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic, volume 3: Plants, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN, pages 373-4

Finnish

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *vara (compare Estonian vara), borrowed from Proto-Germanic *warō (compare Swedish vara (“goods”), vara (“care”), English ware (“aware”), aware, ware (“goods”)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑ̝rɑ̝]
  • Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
  • Syllabification(key): va‧ra
  • Hyphenation(key): va‧ra

Noun

vara

  1. reserve, backup (that which is reserved or kept back, as for future use)
    Mäyrä tarvitsee paksun rasvakerroksen talven varaksi. ― A badger needs a thick layer of fat as a reserve for winter.
    Minulla on ylimääräinen tulppa varalla. ― I have an extra plug as backup.
  2. (in the plural) (natural) resources, (natural) reserves
    Synonym: luonnonvarat
    Irakilla on suuret öljyvarat. ― Iraq has large oil reserves.
  3. (in the plural) stores, stocks, reserves
    Synonym: varasto
  4. (usually in the plural) funds, means, assets, savings
    Synonyms: rahat, maksukyky (literally “ability to pay”), (asset) varallisuus
    Minulla ei ole tähän varaa. ― I can't afford this. (literally, “I don't have the funds for this.”)
  5. (usually in the singular) room, margin; allowance
    Muista jättää kutistumisen varaa. ― Remember to leave an allowance for shrinking.
    Meillä ei ole varaa virheisiin. ― We have no margin for errors.
  6. (mostly in idioms and proverbs) caution, concern, care; often translated into English with an adjective (see also pitää varansa)
    Synonym: varovaisuus
    Pidä varasi, ettet putoa. ― Be careful so that you don't fall.
    Ei vara venettä kaada. (proverb) ― Caution does not overturn a boat.
  7. (woodworking) a tool for cutting long grooves into (the bottoms of) logs for fitting, or for drafting where the grooves will be cut
    Synonym: varausrauta

Declension

Derived terms

Collocations

Further reading

  • “vara”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-04

Galician

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaɾa/ [ˈba.ɾɐ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾa

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese vara (“rod”) attested in the 13th century Cantigas de Santa Maria, from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Portuguese, and Spanish vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

  1. a long and thin stick, pole or rod
    Synonym: valoira
  2. shoot; twig
  3. (historical, measure) vara, especially as a cloth yard, a former unit of length
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄3 vara) pé, (1+2⁄3 varas) paso, (2 varas) braza
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

  1. inflection of varar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

References

  • Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “vara”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
  • Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “vara”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
  • Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “vara”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
  • Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “vara”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
  • Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “vara”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Icelandic

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvaːra/
    Rhymes: -aːra

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Norse vara.

Noun

vara f (genitive singular vöru, nominative plural vörur)

  1. article, commodity
  2. (in the plural form) goods, wares, freight, commodities, merchandise
Declension
Derived terms
  • vöruheiti

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Norse vara, from Proto-Germanic *warōną.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varaði, supine varað)

  1. to warn [with accusative]
    Synonym: gefa aðvörun
Conjugation
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Middle Low German waren (whence also Swedish vara, Norwegian vare, Danish vare), from Proto-West Germanic *waʀōn.

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

  1. (intransitive) to last, to continue, to go on
    Synonym: standa
    Hvað varir þetta lengi? ― How long will this last?
  2. (intransitive) to last, to endure, to be permanent
    Synonym: endast

Etymology 4

Verb

vara (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative varði, supine varað)

  1. (impersonal) to expect
    • 1990, the song Það sést ekki sætari mey ("None sweeter than me can be seen") from the album Gling-Gló by Björk Guðmundsdóttir & tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar (Lyrics)
    Gestirnir komu fyrr en mig varði. ― The guests arrived earlier than expected.
Derived terms

Etymology 5

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

vara

  1. indefinite genitive plural of var

Etymology 6

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

vara

  1. indefinite genitive plural of vör

Ingrian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Proto-Germanic *waraz. Cognates include Finnish vara and Estonian vara.

Pronunciation

  • (Ala-Laukaa) IPA(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
  • (Soikkola) IPA(key): /ˈʋɑrɑ/, [ˈʋɑrɑ]
  • Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
  • Hyphenation: va‧ra

Noun

vara

  1. protection, safety
  2. property, possession
  3. alertness, awareness

Declension

Derived terms

References

  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 640

Italian

Etymology

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈva.ra/
  • Rhymes: -ara
  • Hyphenation: và‧ra

Adjective

vara

  1. feminine singular of varo

Verb

vara

  1. inflection of varare:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

  • avrà

Jamtish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse vera (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *wesaną; see there for further details.

Pronunciation

  • (Western dialects) IPA(key): [²ʋæːɾɐ], [¹ʋæ]
  • (Hackås) IPA(key): [¹ʋæː]
  • (Ragunda) IPA(key): [²ʋæra]
  • (Fors) IPA(key): [²ʋaɾa]

Verb

vara

  1. to be

Declension

References

Karelian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Germanic.

Noun

vara

  1. reserve

Ladino

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish vara, from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese vara.

Noun

vara f (Hebrew spelling ב׳ארה, plural varas)

  1. stick; rod; crossbar
  2. (diminutive form, typography) The rafe lines in the shape of crossbars that can be used in Ladino orthography as diacritics on Hebrew script to alter the sound of letters to create new letters; a breve diacritic (˘) is placed on top of letters to form fricative consonant sounds, such as changing פ (/p/) into פﬞ (/f/); usually referred to by the diminutive varika (“little crossbar”).
    Synonym: varika

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

  1. third-person singular present indicative of varar
  2. second-person singular imperative of varar

Latin

Etymology

From the feminine of the adjective vārus, vāra, vārum (“bent in; knock-kneed; different”).

Pronunciation

  • vāra: (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈwaː.ra]
  • vāra: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈvaː.ra]
  • vārā: (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈwaː.raː]
  • vārā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈvaː.ra]

Noun

vāra f (genitive vārae); first declension

  1. fork, forked branch
  2. tripod, easel

Declension

First-declension noun.

Descendants

Adjective

vāra

  1. inflection of vārus:
    1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
    2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Adjective

vārā

  1. ablative feminine singular of vārus

Latvian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

See varš.

Noun

vara m

  1. genitive singular of varš

Etymology 2

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

Noun

vara f (4th declension)

  1. power
Declension

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

Noun

vara

  1. accusative/genitive singular of varra

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

  • varen

Noun

vara m or f

  1. definite feminine singular of vare

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋɑː.rɑ/

Noun

vara m (definite singular varaen, indefinite plural varaer or varaar, definite plural varaene or varaane)

  1. clipping of vararepresentant

Etymology 2

Verb

vara (present tense varar/varer, past tense vara/varte, past participle vara/vart, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

  1. alternative form of vare

Etymology 3

Verb

vara (present tense varar, past tense vara, past participle vara, passive infinitive varast, present participle varande, imperative vara/var)

  1. alternative form of vare

Noun

vara f

  1. definite singular of vare

Etymology 4

Noun

vara n

  1. definite plural of var

Etymology 5

Verb

vara

  1. (dialectal, nonstandard) alternative form of vera

References

  • “vara” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

  • arva, raav, rava, vaar

Old Galician-Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Old Spanish vara.

Noun

vara

  1. (measure) vara, a Portuguese rod, yard or ell, a traditional unit of length

References

  • Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “vara”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Old Norse

Noun

vara

  1. genitive plural of vǫr

Old Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Old Galician-Portuguese vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

  1. (measure) vara, a Spanish rod, ell, or yard, a traditional unit of length

Descendants

  • Ladino: vana, ב׳ארה
  • Spanish: vana

References

  • Ralph Steele Boggs et al. (1946) “vara”, in Tentative Dictionary of Medieval Spanish, volume II, Chapel Hill, page 518

Old Swedish

Alternative forms

  • væra, væræ

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera.

Verb

vara

  1. To be
    1. to occupy a place, to be

Conjugation

Descendants

  • Swedish: vara

Pali

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Adjective

vara

  1. excellent
  2. noble
Declension
Derived terms

Noun

vara m or n

  1. wish, boon, favour
Declension

As the masculine or neuter of the adjective above, as appropriate.

Verb

vara

  1. second-person singular imperative active of varati (“to desire”)

Etymology 2

Extracted from varati, vareti and vāreti.

Noun

vara m

  1. The Pali root var
    Synonym: vu

References

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aɾɐ
  • Hyphenation: va‧ra

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese vara (“rod”), from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Spanish vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

  1. (historical, measure) vara, a Portuguese rod, yard or ell, a former unit of length about equal to 1.1 m
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄40 vara) polegada, (1⁄5 vara) palmo, (3⁄10 vara) pé, (3⁄5 vara) côvado, (English equivalent, reckoned as 5⁄6 vara) jarda, (1+1⁄2 vara) passo, (1+4⁄5 varas) toesa, (2 varas) braça
  2. (historical, measure) square vara, a former unit of area about equal to 1.2 m²
    Synonym: vara quadrada
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄25 vara) palmo, (403+1⁄3 varas) aguilhada, (4,840 varas) geira
  3. a stick, a twig
  4. a district court, an original court, a trial court or court of first instance
  5. (collective) herd of pigs
  6. (collective) band of coatis
  7. (vulgar, slang) the penis
Derived terms
See also

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

  1. inflection of varar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

  • “vara”, in iDicionário Aulete (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
  • “vara”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
  • “vara” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
  • “vara”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
  • “vara”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
  • “vara”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

From vară +‎ -a.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈva.ra/

Adverb

vara

  1. in the summer

Noun

vara f

  1. definite nominative/accusative singular of vară

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

vara (Cyrillic spelling вара)

  1. genitive singular of var

Verb

vara (Cyrillic spelling вара)

  1. third-person singular present of varati

Sicilian

Etymology

Of Germanic origin, borrowed from Lombardic *bāra (“stretcher, bier”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere (“stretcher, bier”), Dutch baar (“bier”), German Bahre (“bier, stretcher”) and Italian barella.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈva.ɾa/, [ˈva.ɾa]
  • Hyphenation: và‧ra

Noun

vara f (plural vari)

  1. (dated) bier, stretcher
    Synonyms: catalettu, littica
  2. (by extension, religious folklore) ferculum

Derived terms

See also

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaɾa/ [ˈba.ɾa]
  • Rhymes: -aɾa
  • Syllabification: va‧ra

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish vara, from Latin vāra (“fork”). Cognate with Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese vara.

Noun

vara f (plural varas)

  1. rod, pole (a long thin stick)
    Synonyms: palo, bastón, barra
  2. rod (a thin cane or branch)
    Synonym: rama
  3. rod (a staff of office)
  4. (bullfighting) lance
  5. (historical, measure) vara, a Spanish rod or yard (a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 83.7 cm)
    Coordinate terms: (1⁄8 vara) coto, (1⁄4 vara) palmo, (1⁄3 vara) pie, (1⁄2 vara) codo, (English equivalent) yarda, (1+2⁄3 varas) paso, (2 varas) estado, braza, toesa, (4 varas) estadal, (50 varas) cordel, (5,000 varas) legua
  6. (historical, measure) vara, a square vara (a traditional unit of area equivalent to about 0.7 m²)
    Synonym: vara cuadrada
    Coordinate terms: (100 varas) fanega, (10,000 varas) manzana
  7. yardstick (a straight-edge tool for measuring length)
  8. (figurative) yardstick (a standard used to establish a baseline for measurements or comparisons)
    Synonym: estándar
Derived terms

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

vara

  1. feminine singular of varo

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

vara

  1. inflection of varar:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

  • “vara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /²vɑːra/, (verb, usually) /vɑː/
    • Pronunciation of the present tense form är usually varies between /eː/ and /ɛː/ depending on the accent. The pronunciation /ɛːr/, [æːɾ] also occurs, especially when it is stressed, in ceremonial speech, or increasingly also due to spelling pronunciation.
  • Rhymes: -²ɑːra, -ɑː

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Swedish vara, væra from Old Norse vera, earlier vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną. Cognate with Danish være, Icelandic vera, Norwegian være.

Verb

vara (present är, preterite var, supine varit, imperative var)

  1. to be
    1. to occupy a place, to be (somewhere)
      Synonyms: befinna sig, finnas, ligga, sitta, stå
    2. to occur, to take place
    3. (uncommon) to exist
      • c. 1847, Carl August Hagberg, translation of Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1601), act 3, scene 1
      Synonyms: finnas, finnas till, existera, vara till
    4. (copulative) Indicates that the subject and object are the same.
    5. (copulative, mathematics) Indicates that the values on either side of an equation are the same.
    6. (copulative) Indicates that the subject plays the role of or belongs to the group represented by the predicate nominal. This is idiomatically applied more broadly compared to English, as the examples below show. Including an article or making the noun definite – like in English – is not ungrammatical and does not change the meaning of the examples – it is only unidiomatic (and often intuitively redundant to native speakers, for example for giving a count of one (en/ett) to a role, similar to how "became a president" sounds to English speakers).
    7. (copulative) Connects a noun to an adjective that describes it.
      • 1917 translation, the Bible, Deuteronomy (Femte Mosebok), 1:26
    8. Forms a passive voice that indicates a state or a completed action. The examples below show comparisons against -s, which also forms the passive voice. The examples are kept basic for the sake of illustration and do not always represent the most idiomatic way to say things in either Swedish or English.
      Synonyms: (when putting stress on the process) bli, (archaic, only still commonly used in the past tense form vart) varda
    9. (archaic) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs.
      Jag är uppstigen sedan en timme ― I have been out of bed for an hour
    10. Used to indicate things like age, height, temperature, weather, ...
Usage notes
  • Although the past subjunctive in most verbs is viewed as dated (see: Appendix:Swedish verbs), vore is still very much in use by young speakers, even in informal or colloquial language.
  • Technically, Swedish can express the continuous tense with the present participle, like English. "Jag är/var gående" sounds grammatical, literally means "I am/was walking," and would have the same interpretation as in English. However, the tone is completely different, like "I am/was in a state of walking," or "I have/had the property of walking," which is why it is unlikely to be used. (The tone is the same as in "en gående man" (a walking man), which sounds perfectly natural. Compare "a tall man.") Compare also for example "Jag är sängliggande" ("I am bedridden," literally "bed-lying").
Conjugation
See also:
  • äm (archaic first-person singular present indicative)
  • äst (archaic second-person singular present indicative)
  • ären (archaic second-person plural present indicative)
  • voren (archaic second-person plural past indicative)
Alternative forms
  • va (strongly colloquial)
Related terms

Noun

vara n

  1. existence, being
    Varats olidliga lätthet ― The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984 novel by Milan Kundera)
Declension
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Swedish vara, from Middle Low German waren, from Old Saxon waron, from Proto-Germanic *warōną. Cognate with Danish vare.

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

  1. to last (go on for)
    Synonyms: hålla på, pågå, (dated) fortfara
  2. to last, to keep (not spoil)
    Synonyms: (more common) hålla, stå sig
Conjugation
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vari, cognate with Danish vare, possibly from an unattested Old Swedish *vari (“care”), related to Icelandic vari (“caution, carefullness”), but influenced by Middle Low German ware namen, related to German wahren, wahrnehmen.

Noun

vara c

  1. care
    ta vara på ― take care of, keep, not throw away, not waste
    ta sig till vara ― be careful, beware
Usage notes
  • Only used in expressions like the ones in the usage examples above.
Derived terms

Etymology 4

Inherited from Old Swedish vara, from Old Norse vara, from Middle Low German ware. Cognate with Danish vare, German Ware, English ware. Could be related to Sanskrit वर (vara, “valuable”).

Noun

vara c

  1. a commodity
    1. (in the singular) an item (as a singular of goods), an article
    2. (in the plural) goods, merchandise, wares
Declension
Related terms

Etymology 5

Attested since 1664. From var (“pus”) +‎ -a.

Verb

vara (present varar, preterite varade, supine varat, imperative vara)

  1. to generate pus
Conjugation

References

  • vara in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • vara in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • vara in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
  • vara in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

  • avar

Veps

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Finnic *vara, borrowed from Germanic. Cognates include Finnish vara.

Noun

vara

  1. stock, store, inventory
  2. resource
  3. asset

Inflection

References

  • Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “запас, ресурс, состояние, средство, фонд”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[3], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

Votic

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Finnic *vara.

Pronunciation

  • (Luutsa, Liivtšülä) IPA(key): /ˈvɑrɑ/, [ˈvɑrɑ]
  • Rhymes: -ɑrɑ
  • Hyphenation: va‧ra

Noun

vara

  1. property, possessions
  2. supplies, stock
  3. support
  4. share (of something)

Inflection

References

  • Hallap, V., Adler, E., Grünberg, S., Leppik, M. (2012) “vara”, in Vadja keele sõnaraamat [A dictionary of the Votic language], 2nd edition, Tallinn

Source: wiktionary.org