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la

Pronunciation: /lɑː/

The English word “la” has 9 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A syllable used in solfège to represent the sixth note of a major scale.
  2. Sometimes syllable for both the third and the sixth.
  3. lad, kid

interjection

  1. Represents the sound of music or singing.
  2. Used to introduce a statement with emphatic or intensive effect.
  3. Expressing surprise, anger. etc.

adjective

  1. Prefixed to the name of a woman, with ironic effect (as though an opera prima donna).

particle

  1. Placed at the end of a sentence in imperatives making it sound more like a request than an order.
  2. Used to tone down comments.

Etymology

From Glover's solmization, from Middle English la (“sixth degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales”), Italian la in the solmization of Guido of Arezzo, from the first syllable of Latin labiī (“lip's”) in the lyrics of the scale-ascending hymn Ut queant laxis by Paulus Deacon.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.