English

Etymology

Pronunciation

• /'ɒlə/

Noun

1. a cooking-pot or earthenware jar used in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries

   • 1992, On top of the counter were three clay jars or ollas. Two of them were empty but the third was covered with the tin lid from a lardpail and the lid was notched to accommodate the handle of an enameled tin dipper. — Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

2. A pot used for cooling water by evaporation in Latin America.
3. A cinerary urn in ancient Rome.

Estonian

Etymology

Verb

1. da-infinitive of olema, "to be".

Finnish

Etymology

• From the same root *wole- as Estonian olema and Hungarian volt.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ol·la
• Rhymes: -lːɑ
• lang=fi|/'o̞lːɑ(ʔ)/

Verb

1. To be (indicating that the subject and the object form the same thing).

   Minä olen lääkäri.

   I am a doctor.

2. To be, constitute, make up, form.

   Tuo on maanpetos.

   That constitutes (high) treason.

3. ~ (olemassa) = to exist — the subject often indefinite = in partitive case -> verb in 3rd-pers. sg.

   Rakkautta ei ole (olemassa).

   Love doesn't exist.

4. To behave, act (as if...) (when followed by a subordinate clause beginning with (ikään,) kuin, requiring conditional mood).

   Hän oli (ikään), kuin ei olisi huomannut mitään.

   He behaved as if he had'nt noticed anything.

5. In the context of "transitive|auxiliary|lang=fi": To have (a verb to build active present perfect tense and active past perfect tense, taking active past participle, ending -nut/-nyt (sg.) or -neet (pl.)).

   Olen jo syönyt tänään.

   I have already eaten today.

   Olemme jo syöneet tänään.

   We have already eaten today.

   Olin jo syönyt.

   I had already eaten.

   Olimme jo syöneet.

   We had already eaten.

6. In the context of "transitive|auxiliary|lang=fi": To have (a verb to build impersonal simple past tense, impersonal passive present perfect tense and impersonal passive past perfect tense, taking passive past participle, ending -tu/-ty).

   Aamiainen oli jo syöty.

   Breakfast had already been eaten.

7. adessive + 3rd-pers. sg. + nominative/partitive/accusative = to have; to own, to possess.

   Minulla on/oli/on ollut kissa (nom.). (when in positive sentences, countable nouns in nominative)

   I have/had/have had a cat.

   Minulla ei ole kissaa (part.). (when in negative sentences, countable nouns in partitive)

   I don't have a cat.

   Minulla on/oli/on ollut sinut (acc.). (when in positive sentences, personal pronouns in accusative)

   I have/had/have had you.

   Minulla ei ole/ei ollut/ei ole ollut sinua (part.). (when in negative sentences, personal pronouns in partitive)

   I don't have/didn't have/haven't had you.

   Minulla on/ei ole rahaa (part.). (singular uncountable nouns in partitive in both positive and negative sentences)

   I have/don't have money.

   Minulla on valta (nom.). (with an uncountable noun in nominative, the meaning or nuance of the sentence changes:)

   Ive got the power.

8. missä + 3rd-pers. sg. + nominative/partitive = there is / are + subject + where?

   Pöydällä on kissa. (when in positive sentences, singular countable nouns in nominative)

   There is a cat on the table.

   Pöydällä ei ole kissaa. (when in negative sentences, singular countable nouns in partitive)

   There is no cat on the table.

   Pöydällä on/ei ole kissoja. (plural countable nouns in partitive in both positive and negative sentences)

   There are (some) cats / There are no cats on the table.

   Lattialla on/ei ole rahaa. (singular uncountable nouns in partitive in both positive and negative sentences)

   There is (some) / There is no money on the floor.

9. genitive + 3rd-pers. sg. + passive present participle, -tava/-tävä = to have to do something, must do something; be obliged/forced to do something.

   Minun (gen.) on nyt mentävä.

   I have to go now.

   Minun on palautettava kirja kirjastoon perjantaihin mennessä.

   I have to return the book to the library by Friday.

   • that same in passive: nominative/accusative + 3rd-pers. sg. + passive present participle, -tava/-tävä = to have to be done, must be done.

   Kirja (nom.) on palautettava kirjastoon perjantaihin mennessä. (countable nouns in nominative)

   The book has to be returned to the library by Friday.

   Onko sinut (acc.) hiljennettevä pakolla? (personal pronouns in accusative)

   Do I have to make you shut your mouth? (literally: Do you have to be quietened by force?)

Derived terms

• olla (+ vähällä) + infinitive = to almost/nearly (do something accidental, harmful, wrong or fateful).

Olin (vähällä) kaatua lattialle.

• I almost fell on the floor.

• olla + active present participle plural in essive + possessive suffix = to be supposed to do, pretend to do, put on airs of doing, affect:

Mikä tämä on olevinaan? (speaker belittling the object in front of her/him)

• What is this supposed to be?

Olit olevinasi niin täydellinen.

• You pretended to be so damn perfect.

• olla + fifth infinitive + possessive suffix by person = to be about to do (when something happens preventing it):

Olin lähtemäisilläni ulos, kun puhelin soi.

• I was about to go out when the phone rang.

• genitive + 3rd-pers. sg. + pakko + infinitive = to must, have to, be forced to:

Minun on pakko lähteä nyt.

• I have to leave now.

• genitive + olisi (conditional) parasta + infinitive = had better + infinitive:

Sinun olisi parasta olla hiljaa.

• You had better be silent.

• olkoonkin(, että...) = never mind (that...)
• i-c interjection olkoon menneeksi = (okay,...) why not, go ahead, (colloquial) what the hell
• olla kunnossa = to be in shape; to be in order

Usage note

• If used without an adjective, olla kunnossa is a positive expression, and one might as well say olla hyvässä kunnossa (to be in good shape/order). If necessary, another adjective may be used:
  • Olen kamalassa kunnossa. = I'm in an awful shape.
  • Olen kohtuullisessa kunnossa lähtemään kotiin. = I'm in a moderate shape to go home.

• adjectives: oleellinen, olematon, olennainen, oleva, olevainen
• nouns: olemus, olento, olio, olo, oltavat
• verbs: frequentatives oleilla, oleskella; causative olettaa; reflexive oleutua

Related terms

• oma

Karelian

Etymology

Verb

1. to be

Old Dutch

Adjective

1. all

   Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan''

   All birds have started to build their nests

Spanish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

1. a pot or pan; a kettle
2. a stew
3. a pool, a whirlpool

Swedish

Etymology

Verb

1. to touch with one's glans (tip of the penis)

   ''Han ollade min tandborste på fyllan."

   "He touched my toothbrush with his penis when he was drunk."

• Hebban olla vogala, are the first 3 words of an old fragment of Dutch discovered in 1932 in the margin of a Latin manuscript
• Olla, Louisiana, a town in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States.
• Olla podrida, a popular dish in Spain and Galicia dating back to the Middle Ages
• Tamal de olla, large Panamanian tamale that fills the baking pan in which it is cooked
• Olla (genus), a genus of the family Coccinellidae