kera

Sense 1

English: Translation

catch in the act; catch red-handed; discover wrongdoing

English: Definition

To unexpectedly catch, discover, or come upon a person while that person is actually committing a wrongful, forbidden, dishonest, or concealed act, typically causing the culprit to react with sudden surprise, alarm, or guilt at having been discovered.

Part of Speech

verb

Example Sentence

Nakera ko yo maonas kaga’bi.

English: Example Sentence

I caught the thief in the act last night.

Sense 2

English: Translation

guilty startle; caught-in-the-act reaction

English: Definition

The sudden startled, alarmed, or visibly guilty reaction of a person who realizes that a concealed or wrongful act has just been discovered.

Part of Speech

noun

Morphology

[ROOT]

Notes

Semantic Domain: Social interaction; Wrongdoing; Perception

Notes: Kera is more specific than merely see, find, or discover. Its characteristic situation is discovery at the incriminating moment—the wrongdoer is encountered while doing, or immediately exposed in, the wrongful act. English catch red-handed is often an excellent contextual equivalent.

The person caught need not necessarily be a formally defined criminal; the word may apply whenever someone is unexpectedly discovered doing something that the person knows should not be done.

Sense 2 — noun

Semantic Domain: Emotion; Social interaction

Notes: This nominal sense profiles the culprit’s reaction upon being caught, rather than the act of discovery itself. It is therefore closely linked to, but semantically distinguishable from, the verbal sense.

Boie'nen (Old Buhi Language)

kera