This is the 6635th most frequent Dutch word.
wa
"Wa" is an archaic or dialectal Dutch word meaning "wool."
In this sentence, the word 'wa' appears as part of 'wat,' meaning 'what'. It introduces a question seeking information.
Wat waren jouw plannen voor vandaag?
What were your plans for today?
Here, 'wa' is part of 'was,' the past tense of 'zijn' (to be), indicating a state of being in the past.
Ze dacht dat hij weg was.
She thought he was gone.
In this sentence, 'wa' is again part of 'was,' expressing existence in the past—namely that nobody was present at home.