toa

See also: Appendix:Variations of "toa"

Languages (21)

English

---

Akan • Asturian • Dalmatian • Ese • Estonian • Fijian • Galician • Garo • Indonesian • Māori • Middle English • Portuguese • Rarotongan • Samoan • Spanish • Swahili • Swedish • Ternate • Vietnamese • West Ambae

---

Page categories

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Dieri toa (“sign, mark, stick, messenger”), thoa, thuwa.

Noun

toa (plural toas)

1. A small painted artifact made by the Diyari people of Australia, believed to have been used as place markers or signposts.
   • 2000, Lin Onus, Urban dingo: the art and life of Lin Onus, 1948-1996, page 21:

     These thirty-four toa constructions, made from urban debris and ceremoniously installed in a circular (or sometimes oval) bed of sand, bring together the multiple themes centred on reclamation that preoccupied his life.

   • 2005, Bill Arthur, Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia‎^[2], page 22:

     It seems that on leaving one place people would place a toa in the ground to show other people where they had gone.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Māori toa.

Noun

toa (plural toas)

1. (New Zealand) A brave warrior.
   • 1902, Journal of the Polynesian Society‎^[3], volume 11, page 211:

     The toa or brave who distinguished himself was thought very highly of.

   • 2011, Robert N. Bellah, Religion in Human Evolution‎^[4], page 261:

     Thus in Polynesia, the toa (warrior) could challenge the ariki (priest/chief).

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Māori toa. Doublet of koa.

Noun

toa (countable and uncountable, plural toas)

1. A Polynesian tree of the genus Casuarina, or its wood.
   • 1817, William Mariner, An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands in the South Pacific‎^[5], page 302:

     It happens that nature has assembled in this spot, not only the wildest profusion of the vegetable kingdom, over which the lofty toa tree stands pre-eminent, but also objects of another description, overhanging rocks, hollow-sounding caverns, and steep precipices, calculated to give an aspect as bold and sublime as the imagination can well conceive, and constituting a species of scenery, which, in proportion as it is more rare, is more admired by the natives.

   • 1882, John Shertzer Hittell, The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of North America‎^[6], page 604:

     The toa wood of the South Pacific islands is similar to Eastern walnut in color and texture, but is much finer in figure.

Anagrams

• AOT, ATO, OTA, Ota, TAO, Tao, oat, tao

Akan

Verb

toa

1. to rejoin

References

• LearnAkan (2018–present), “rejoin”, in LearnAkanDictionary.com (overall work in English)

Asturian

Determiner

toa f

1. feminine singular of tou

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin tua, feminine of tuus.

Pronoun

toa f (masculine to)

1. your; second-person feminine singular possessive pronoun

Ese

Noun

toa

1. water

References

• Jim and Judy Parlier. Managalasi phonology. 2008 [1963].

Estonian

Noun

toa

1. genitive singular of tuba

Fijian

Etymology 1

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

Noun

toa

1. chicken, fowl (Gallus gallus)

   E rogo na toa e na mataka.

   The rooster crows in the morning.

2. rooster (male chicken)
3. hen (female chicken)

Derived terms

• kana yava ni toa (“said to hyperactive child”, literally “eat chicken feet”) (idiom)
• moce vata na toa (“to go to sleep very early”, literally “sleep with the chickens”)
• solisoli vakatoa (“to give then take back”, literally “giving like a rooster”)
• toa makawa (“older woman acting young”, literally “old hen”) (impolite)
• yava ni toa (“chicken feet”)

Etymology 2

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

Noun

toa

1. champion, warrior, hero

   Ko koya na toa ni valu.

   He is a champion warrior.

2. (sports) champion

   Era na toa ni vala.

   They are the sports champions.

Derived terms

• toa ni vala (“sports champion”)
• toa ni valu (“champion warrior”)

Etymology 3

Noun

toa

1. component in compound words

Derived terms

• ulutoa (“javelin head (in veitiqa sport)”)

References

• Gatty, Ronald (2009), “toa”, in Fijian–English Dictionary‎^[7], Suva, Fiji: Ronald Gatty, →ISBN, page 270

Galician

Etymology 1

Attested circa 1450. From toar, from Old French toer, from Old Norse toga, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (“to pull”). Compare English tow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoa̝/

Noun

toa f (plural toas)

1. towrope

Derived terms

• á toa

References

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

Etymology 2

Verb

toa

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

Garo

Etymology

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

Verb

toa

1. (transitive) to measure the length, weight
2. (intransitive) to be nice.
3. to be delicious

References

• Burling, R. (2003), The Language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo) Vol. II: The Lexicon‎^[8], Bangladesh: University of Michigan, page 388

Indonesian

toa

Etymology

Genericized trademark of the Japanese trademark TOA, from the first two characters (東亞(とうあ) (tōa, “East Asia”))) of its former name (東亞特殊電機(とうあとくしゅでんき) (tōatokushudenki)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈto.a]
• Hyphenation: toa

Noun

toa

1. (dialect, informal) sound system, including megaphone

   Toa di sekolah kami sangat nyaring.

   The megaphone in our school is very loud.

Māori

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoa/ [ˈtɔɐ]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *toqa (compare Hawaiian koa and Samoan toa).

Adjective

toa

1. brave, courageous.

Noun

toa

1. a warrior.
2. bravery, courage
3. a male.

Derived terms

• taitoa

Verb

toa

1. to win

Etymology 2

From English store.

Noun

toa

1. a store or shop.

References

• John C. Moorfield (2011), “toa”, in Te Aka: Māori–English, English–Māori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, →ISBN

Middle English

Noun

toa

1. (Early Middle English, Worcestershire) alternative form of to (“toe”)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ɐ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ɐ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈto.ɐ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈto(w).ɐ/

• Rhymes: -oɐ
• Hyphenation: to‧a

Etymology 1

From toar, from Old French toer, from Old Norse toga, from Proto-Germanic *tugōną (“to pull”). Compare English tow.

Noun

toa f (plural toas)

1. towrope

   Synonym: sirga

Related terms

• à toa

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

toa

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

Further reading

• “toa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “toa”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Rarotongan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *toa (compare Hawaiian koa), from Proto-Oceanic *toRas, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *təRas (compare Indonesian teras).

Noun

toa

1. A tree with dark-colored, hard wood, Casuarina equisetifolia.

Samoan

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *toqa (compare Hawaiian koa).

Noun

toa

1. warrior
2. hero

Adjective

toa

1. heroic
2. brave, courageous

References

• Milner, G.B. (1993), Samoan Dictionary, Auckland: Polynesian Press, →ISBN, page 268

Spanish

Noun

toa f (plural toas)

1. (Cuba) rope

Verb

toa

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

Further reading

• “toa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Etymology

Etymology tree

Common Bantu *-cóba

Proto-Sabaki *-cowa

Swahili toa

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *-cowa (“to lack”), from Common Bantu *-cóba (“to lack”). Inherited through a Northern-dialect form -t̪oa. Cognate with Giryama -tsoa and Kipfokomo -tsoa (“to be wrong”). From the same root as -toweka.

Pronunciation

• (Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.ɑ/
• (Kimvita) IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ɔ.ɑ/

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

-toa (infinitive kutoa)

1. to give (out)
2. to produce
3. to publish
4. to offer

   kutoa rushwa ― to offer a bribe

5. to put out, to remove
6. (reflexive) to withdraw, to retire
   • 2022, Muungano wa Tanganyika na Zanzibar: Chimbuko, Misingi na Maendeleo, Serikali ya Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, →ISBN:

     […] kufuatia kujitoa kwa Tanzania Zanzibar katika Bodi ya Mitihani ya Afrika Mashariki mwaka 1970 na Tanzania Bara mwaka 1971.

     […] following the withdrawal of Zanzibar from the East African Examinations Council in 1970 and of Mainland Tanzania in 1971.

Conjugation

Conjugation of -toa
Positive present -natoa Subjunctive -toe Negative -toi Imperative singular toa
Infinitives
Positive kutoa Negative kutotoa
Imperatives
Singular toa Plural toeni
Tensed forms
Habitual hutoa Positive past positive subject concord + -litoa Negative past negative subject concord + -kutoa
Positive present (positive subject concord + -natoa) Singular Plural 1st person ninatoa/natoa tunatoa 2nd person unatoa mnatoa 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anatoa wanatoa other classes positive subject concord + -natoa
Negative present (negative subject concord + -toi) Singular Plural 1st person sitoi hatutoi 2nd person hutoi hamtoi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hatoi hawatoi other classes negative subject concord + -toi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tatoa Negative future negative subject concord + -tatoa
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -toe) Singular Plural 1st person nitoe tutoe 2nd person utoe mtoe 3rd person m-wa(I/II) atoe watoe other classes positive subject concord + -toe
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sitoe Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngetoa Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singetoa Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalitoa Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalitoa
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -atoa) Singular Plural 1st person natoa twatoa 2nd person watoa mwatoa 3rd person m-wa(I/II) atoa watoa m-mi(III/IV) watoa yatoa ji-ma(V/VI) latoa yatoa ki-vi(VII/VIII) chatoa vyatoa n(IX/X) yatoa zatoa u(XI) watoa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwatoa pa(XVI) patoa mu(XVIII) mwatoa
Perfect positive subject concord + -metoa "Already" positive subject concord + -meshatoa "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jatoa "If/When" positive subject concord + -kitoa "If not" positive subject concord + -sipotoa Consecutive katoa / positive subject concord + -katoa Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -katoe
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nitoa -tutoa 2nd person -kutoa -watoa/-kutoeni/-watoeni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -mtoa -watoa m-mi(III/IV) -utoa -itoa ji-ma(V/VI) -litoa -yatoa ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kitoa -vitoa n(IX/X) -itoa -zitoa u(XI) -utoa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kutoa pa(XVI) -patoa mu(XVIII) -mutoa Reflexive -jitoa
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -toa- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -toaye -toao m-mi(III/IV) -toao -toayo ji-ma(V/VI) -toalo -toayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -toacho -toavyo n(IX/X) -toayo -toazo u(XI) -toao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -toako pa(XVI) -toapo mu(XVIII) -toamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -toa) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yetoa -otoa m-mi(III/IV) -otoa -yotoa ji-ma(V/VI) -lotoa -yotoa ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chotoa -vyotoa n(IX/X) -yotoa -zotoa u(XI) -otoa see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kotoa pa(XVI) -potoa mu(XVIII) -motoa
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

Derived terms

• Verbal derivations:
  • Applicative: -tolea
  • Causative: -toza
  • Passive: -tolewa
  • Reciprocal: -toana
  • Stative: -toleka

• Nominal derivations:
  • mtoaji
  • utoaji

• Other derivations:
  • tovu

Swedish

Etymology

Clipping of toalett, from French toilette.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²tuːˌa/

Noun

toa c

1. (colloquial) synonym of toalett (“toilet; (the) bathroom”)

   Jag måste gå på toa!

   I need to go to the bathroom!

   Jag tror han är på toa

   I think he's in the bathroom

   sitta på toa

   sit on the toilet

   "Sit in the bathroom," intuitively, referring to the room.

   rengöra toan

   clean the toilet [fixture]

Usage notes

• Normally in the indefinite when referring to the bathroom, as seen in the usage examples. Compare the usage notes for stan. The intuition is similar.
• Less vulgar compared to other colloquial synonyms. Often used between children and parents, for example, though not inherently childish.

Declension

Declension of toa

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	toa	toas
	definite	toan	toans
plural	indefinite	toor	toors
	definite	toorna	toornas

Synonyms

• toalett
• dass (colloquial)
• mugg (colloquial)
• skithus (colloquial)
• hemlighus

Derived terms

• damtoa
• herrtoa
• mulltoa
• toabesök
• toaborste (“toilet brush”)
• toapapper
• toarengöring
• toarent
• toaring
• toarulle (“toilet roll”)
• toasits (“toilet seat”)
• toastol

See also

• necessär

References

• “toa”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “toa”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “toa”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Ternate

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈto.a]

Verb

toa

1. to extend the hand, to reach out

Conjugation

Conjugation of toa

		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		totoa	fotoa	mitoa
2nd person		notoa	nitoa
3rd person	masculine	otoa	itoa yotoa (archaic)
	feminine	motoa
	neuter	itoa

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [twaː˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [twaː˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [t⁽ʷ⁾aː˧˧]

Etymology 1

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

Noun

toa

1. a railroad car/railway carriage

Etymology 2

From Teochew 單 / 单. Compare Thai ตั๋ว (dtǔua), Khmer តួ (tuə).

Noun

toa

1. (medicine, pharmacy) prescription (written order for the administration of a medicine)

Synonyms

• (prescription): toa thuốc, đơn thuốc

Etymology 3

Borrowed from French toi.

Pronoun

toa

1. (obsolete, sometimes humorous, originally towards a French speaker) you

   Coordinate term: moa

See also

• ngộ/nị (towards a Cantonese speaker)
• hoá/lứ (towards a Teochew speaker)

Anagrams

• tao

West Ambae

Noun

toa

1. chicken
   • 2025, Saurov Syed and Aly Turrell, Bipartite negation in Nduindui: Empirical generalisations and theoretical challenges:

     na he lengaia tea kwara na kani toa

     1SG NEG1 want NEG2 COMP 1SG eat chicken

     ‘I do not want to eat chicken.’

References

• Saurov Syed and Aly Turrell, Bipartite negation in Nduindui: Empirical generalisations and theoretical challenges (2025)