phera

Chichewa

Etymology

From pha (“to kill”) +‎ -era (“applicative suffix for monosyllabic stems”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʰe.ɽa/

Verb

-phera (infinitive kuphéra)

1. Applicative form of -pha
   1. to kill for someone or something
   2. to kill with something
   3. (figurative) to finish
2. to come across something, to discover
3. to knock down the last skittle (maize cob) in the game nsikwa so that the next player can play.
4. to cut lots of small trees.

Derived terms

• Verbal derivations:
  • Negative: -saphera
  • Reduplicative: -pheraphera

• Nominal derivations:
  • mpheranjiru (“sorcerer who kills out of jealousy or on demand”)

References

• Steven Paas (2016), Oxford Chichewa-English/English - Chichewa Dictionary‎, Oxford University Press, page 459