You can make 4 words from was according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.
All 3 letters words made out of was
was aws wsa swa asw saw
Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word was. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in was.
Definitions and meaning of was
was
Translingual
Symbol
was
(international standards)ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Washo.
Alternative forms
wus
wuz
Etymology
From Middle Englishwas, from Old Englishwæs, from Proto-Germanic*was, (compare Scotswas, West Frisianwas (dated, wie is generally preferred today), Dutchwas, Low Germanwas, Germanwar, Swedishvar), from Proto-Indo-European*h₂we-h₂wós-e, from *h₂wes-(“to reside”), whence also vestal. The paradigm of “to be” has been since the time of Proto-Germanic a synthesis of three originally distinct verb stems. The infinitive form be is from Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-(“to become”). The forms is and are are both derived from Proto-Indo-European*h₁es-(“to be”). Lastly, the past forms starting with w- such as was and were are from Proto-Indo-European*h₂wes-(“to reside”).
Pronunciation
(stressed)
(UK, New Zealand) enPR: wŏz, wŭz, IPA(key): /wɒz/, /wʌz/
(US) enPR: wŭz, wŏz, IPA(key): /wʌz/, /wɑz/
(General Australian) enPR: wŏz, IPA(key): /wɔz/
Rhymes: -ɒz, -ʌz
(unstressed)
(UK, US) enPR: wəz, IPA(key): /wəz/
.* (in the phrase “I was there.”)
Verb
was
first-person singular simple past indicative of be.
third-person singular simple past indicative of be.
(now colloquial)Used in phrases with existential there when the semantic subject is (usually third-person) plural.
(now colloquial or nonstandard, African-American Vernacular)second-person singular simple past indicative of be; were.
(colloquial, nonstandard)first-person plural simple past indicative of be; were.
(colloquial, nonstandard, African-American Vernacular)third-person plural simple past indicative of be; were.
Derived terms
wasband
wasbian
See also
Further reading
If I Was or If I Were: Easy Guide on Appropriate Use, grammar.yourdictionary.com
When to use "If I was" vs. "If I were"?, english.stackexchange.com
if I were you, if I was you at Google Ngram Viewer
Anagrams
ASW, AWS, SAW, Saw, aws, saw
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
Noun
was (uncountable)
wax
Verb
was
past of wees
Verb
was (presentwas, present participlewassende, past participlegewas)
to wash
Banda
Noun
was
water
References
"Elat, Kei Besar" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
Cebuano
Etymology
Slang variant of wala
Pronoun
was
(slang, informal) nothing; none
Adjective
was
(informal) absent
Dutch
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ʋɑs/
Rhymes: -ɑs
Etymology 1
Cognate with Englishwash.
Noun
wasm (pluralwassen, diminutivewasjen)
laundry, clothes that need to be washed, or just have been washed.
Derived terms
Descendants
Negerhollands: wasch, was
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch*was, from Proto-Germanic*wahsą. Cognate with GermanWachs, Englishwax, Danishvoks, Swedishvax.
Noun
wasm or n (pluralwassen)
wax
growth
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Cognate with Englishwas.
Verb
was
singular past indicative of zijn
singular past indicative of wezen
Etymology 4
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
was
inflection of wassen:
first-person singular present indicative
imperative
Anagrams
swa
German
Alternative forms
wat(colloquial in western and parts of northern Germany)
Etymology
From Middle High Germanwaz, from Old High Germanwaz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic*hwat, from Proto-Indo-European*kʷod. Cognate with Bavarianwas, wås, Silesian East Central Germanwoas (was), Dutchwat, Englishwhat, Danishhvad. Doublet of wat.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /vas/
(Bavaria)
Rhymes: -as
Pronoun
was
(interrogative) what
(relative) which (referring to the entire preceding clause)
(relative) that, which (referring to das, alles, etwas, nichts, and neuter substantival adjectives)
(relative, colloquial) that, which (referring to neuter singular nouns, instead of standard das)
(indefinite, colloquial) something, anything (instead of standard etwas)
(interrogative, dated) why (with emphasis, astonishment or disapproval)
Usage notes
Was is colloquially used with prepositions, chiefly but not exclusively in southern regions. Otherwise it is generally replaced with a pronominal adverb containing wo- (or in a few cases wes-). Hence: Womit hast du das gemacht?(“With what did you do that?”), instead of Mit was hast du das gemacht?, and weswegen instead of wegen was.
The genitive case, and the dative case if necessary for clearness, can be paraphrased by means of welcher Sache(“what thing”). Possessive genitives are more commonly paraphrased with wovon(“of what”). It is also possible to use the genitive form wessen, but it wouldn't be used in questions such as Wessen ist das? because here it would be understood as the genitive form of wer.
The colloquial was meaning "something" can only be the first word in a sentence if followed by an adjective: Was Wichtiges fehlt noch.(“Something important is missing.”) Otherwise the full form etwas must be used: Etwas fehlt noch.(“Something is missing.”) The reason for this is that the latter sentence could be misinterpreted as a question if was were used.
Declension
Derived terms
komme, was wolle
was ist dir; was ist Dir
was kostet es
was zum Geier; was zum Kuckuck
tun, was man nicht lassen kann
was auch immer
was der Bauer nicht kennt, das frisst er nicht
was geht
was gibt's Neues
was du nicht sagst; was ihr nicht sagt; was Sie nicht sagen
Determiner
was
(archaic) what; what kind of
Synonym:was für
Usage notes
In the dative and genitive feminine, the inflected form waser occurred.
Adverb
was
(colloquial) a little, somewhat
(interrogative, colloquial) why, what for
Synonyms:warum, wieso, weshalb
Gothic
Romanization
was
Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐍃
Gros Ventre
Noun
was
bear
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Middle High Germanwaz, from Old High Germanwaz, hwaz, from Proto-Germanic*hwat, from Proto-Indo-European*kʷod.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /vas/
Pronoun
was
(interrogative) what
(relative) what
(indefinite) something, anything
See also
etwas
Further reading
Online Hunsrik Dictionary
Javanese
Romanization
was
Romanization of ꦮꦱ꧀
Low German
Verb
was
first-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
third-person singular simple past indicative of węsen
apocopated form of wasse(“wash”), second-person singular imperative of wassen(mainly used in the Netherlands, equivalent to other dialects' wasche/waske)
apocopated form of wasse(“wax”), second-person singular imperative of wassen
apocopated form of wasse(“grow”), second-person singular imperative of wassen
Usage notes
Notes on the verb węsen (to be): In recent times (~1800) the old subjunctive wer is used in place of was by many speakers. This might be the old subjunctive which is now used as a preterite or a reduction of weren, which is the preterite plural indicative of the verb. It might also be an imitation of the High German cognate war. Many smaller dialectal clusters do this, but no dialect does it. That means: even though there are many regions within e.g. Lower Saxony that use wer for was, maybe even the majority, there is no straight connection between them, i.e. which form is used can depend on preference, speaker and specific region. Due to this "one town this way, one town that way"-nature of the situation no form can be named "standard" for a greater dialect, such as Low Saxon.
Lower Sorbian
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [was]
Pronoun
was
genitive of wy
accusative of wy
locative of wy
Masurian
Etymology
Inherited from Old Polishwasz.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈvas]
Syllabification: was
Pronoun
was
second person plural possessive pronoun; your
Mayangna
Noun
was
water
stream, river
References
Smith, Ethnogeography of the Mayangna of Nicaragua, in Ethno- and historical geographic studies in Latin America: essays honoring William V. Davidson (2008), page 88: The location of 46 settlements from this list containing the term ”was" —meaning "water" or "stream" — were obtained[.]
Middle Dutch
Verb
was
first/third-person singular past indicative of wēsen
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old Englishwæs (first/third person singular indicative past of wesan), from Proto-Germanic*was (first/third person singular indicative past of *wesaną).
Verb
was
first/third-person singular past indicative of been
(dialectal)second-person singular past indicative of been
(dialectal)plural past indicative of been
Descendants
English: was
Scots: was, wis
Yola: waas, was, waz; 'as, as
Etymology 2
Pronoun
was
Alternative form of whos(“whose”, genitive)
Middle Low German
Alternative forms
wass
Verb
was
first/third-person singular preterite indicative of wēsen
Old English
Alternative forms
wes — Mercian
wæs
Verb
was(Northumbrian)
first/third-person singular preterite of bēon
first/third-person singular preterite of wesan
Old High German
Alternative forms
uuas, ƿas — Manuscript spelling
Verb
was
first/third-person singular past indicative of wesan
Old Javanese
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /was/
Rhymes: -was
Homophone: wās
Hyphenation: was
Etymology 1
Root
was
Alternative spelling of wās(“clear”)
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
was
name of a day in the six-day week
Etymology 3
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Particle
was
emphatic or descriptive particle
Further reading
"was" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
From Middle High Germanwaz, from Old High Germanwaz, hwaz, from Proto-West Germanic*hwat.
Compare Germanwas, Dutchwat, Englishwhat.
Pronoun
was
(interrogative) what
Polish
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /vas/
Rhymes: -as
Syllabification: was
Pronoun
was
genitive/accusative/locative of wy
Proto-Norse
Romanization
was
Romanization of ᚹᚨᛊ
Scots
Noun
was
plural of wa
Seychellois Creole
Etymology
From Frenchouest.
Noun
was
west
References
Danielle D’Offay et Guy Lionnet, Diksyonner Kreol - Franse / Dictionnaire Créole Seychellois - Français
Somali
Verb
was
fuck
Descendants
→ English: wass
Spanish
Etymology
From WhatsApp.
Noun
wasm (pluralwas)
a message sent or received over WhatsApp
Related terms
Tagalog
Alternative forms
waz
wis, wiz
wit, wititit
Etymology
Clipping of wala + -s.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ˈwas/, [ˈwas]
Pronoun
was (Baybayin spellingᜏᜐ᜔)
(gay slang) nothing; none
Synonyms:wala, (gay slang)waley
Further reading
Zorc, R. David, San Miguel, Rachel (1993) Tagalog Slang Dictionary, Manila: De La Salle University Press, →ISBN, page 155
Tok Pisin
Etymology
From Englishwatch.
Verb
was
angel; any supernatural creature in heaven according to Christian theology
Welsh
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /waːs/
Noun
was
Soft mutation of gwas.
Mutation
Yola
Verb
was
Alternative form of waas(“was”)
Alternative form of waas(“were”)
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