Description:

The term 'xap' pertains to preparation, readiness and sometimes also being on time or early for something.

Verb:

As a verb, 'xap' is a transitive skurun verb meaning to prepare or ready something. It takes an ergative subject who is making preparation and an absolutive object which is a thing or person prepared. It can take an optional periphrastic argument introduced with 'u' which is the purpose of the preparation. Example:

Ja jen te xap a epálinka u na uljy.
The(ERG) head hit(NP.IM) ready the(ABS) below-TER-RCP to the(NOM) meeting.

The boss was getting their subordinate ready for the meeting.

The pali anti-passive form is extremely popular and means to get (oneself) ready. The antipassive form combined with the perfect aspect is also an idiom for being early or on time, although modifier expressions are more likely for this latter meaning. It takes an absolutive subject which is the entity getting ready. It can also take the optional purposive clause introduced by u. Example:

A Lisa sete xap u na nene.
Lisa is ready/on time for the dance.

The derived form 'uxap' is less frequently used. It can be used in all the ways that 'xap' alone can be used. It means something like 'trying to get ready', and is expressing some doubt about whether it is being done in an appropriate way or whether it is likely to be successful.

The aspect of the verb is important for 'xap' - when a perfect verb form is used, it means the person it ready, or is early or on time, and when an imperfect form is used, it means they are in the process of getting ready,

Noun:

As a noun, 'xap' means 'readiness' or 'preparation', usually talking about specific preparations (the purpose of which can be stated using a prepositional phrase starting with u). To talk about readiness or preparation more abstractly, the derived form 'xapysyn' might be used.

Modifier:

The modifier forms of 'xap' are widely used, especially in expressions about being on time or early as opposed to ready. The base form 'xapys' means ready, early or on time, and in the phrase 'cajno xapys' means 'right on time'. The derived form 'roxápys' is often used to convey the idea of being early. The derived form 'uxápys' is used less often and typically conveys a sense of catching someone or something before they can finish getting ready. These are often used in cpular expressions. Example:

A Lisa se an xapys u na nene.
Lisa is on time for the dance.

This example is similar to the verbal example above but idiomatically is more likely to be understood as being about time than about preparations.