així

Forms

així^[1] Old Catalan wrote axí and ayxí; a document of 1095 has acsí.^[2][3] The dialects have many variants: aixina and aixines, aixins, Mallorcan aixinos, Menorcan aixic, Roussillon aixín, aixís, and forms with a prefixed assu- such as aixuixí.^[4][1] The RACV dictionary heads the Valencian aixina and marks així as old.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *eccum sīc, a compound of the demonstrative particle eccum (“here he is”) and sīc (“thus”).^[6][7][1][4] The DCVB writes the Vulgar Latin form ⟨*accu sīc⟩, with the variant of the particle found in the compounds behind aquest and aquell.^[4]

Coromines is more cautious about the first part.^[2] The old form was ⟨aissí⟩, with an element ⟨ai-⟩ placed in front as in aital and aitant, the same as Old Occitan aissí and close to Old French issi; its origin is uncertain, but it is probably the same Vulgar Latin particle as in Italian così.^[2] The second part, the Latin adverb, also gave sí 'yes'.^[7] Coromines and Pascual explain Spanish así differently, as the old ⟨sí⟩ 'thus' with a prefixed ⟨a-⟩.^[8]

The Latin particle itself is formed from ecce (“behold”) and, probably, an accusative pronoun.^[9] The Menorcan variant ⟨aixic⟩ may keep the final /k/ of the Latin adverb, unless the sound was added later; ⟨aixís⟩ took an /s/ from other adverbs.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coromines finds the word in a document from Pallars of 1095 (per ço che acsí li o faça), and the Homilies d'Organyà use it often, for 'in this way' and in així com 'just as'.^[2] CICA's first record is the Homilies d'Organyà too.^[10]

Semantic evolution

From the start it had the basic sense 'in this way' and those that come straight from it, 'to such a degree' and the optative 'so be it': a truce sworn in 1244 between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix ends així Déus nos ajud.^[2] Jaume I's chronicle and Muntaner use així com 'just as' and així com aquell qui 'as befits one who', and així ... com 'both ... and' appears in the Costums de Tortosa and in Joanot Martorell.^[2] Així mateix 'also' is in the chronicle of Peter the Ceremonious, and its negative així poc 'neither' occurs in the 15th century.^[2] Faraudo adds the consecutive sense 'and so, therefore', in Vicent Ferrer.^[3]

Modern Catalan keeps these uses; the DIEC2 adds set phrases such as així així 'so-so' and així com així 'anyway'.^[11]

Timeline

• 1095 – acsí in a document from Pallars.^[2]
• 12th century, end – the Homilies d'Organyà, the first record in CICA.^[10]
• 1244 – així Déus nos ajud in a truce between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix.^[2]
• 1424 – Manuel Dieç's book on horses: axi naturals com accidentals.^[3]
• 1440 – the Curial e Güelfa: e axi s feu.^[3]
• 1932 – Fabra's Diccionari general defines així.^[12]

Meanings

Adverb

1. thus, so, in this way: Fes-ho així, amb compte.^[11][6][1]
2. (with adjectival value) Of this kind, such: Amb un temps així no sortirem.^[11]
3. To such a degree.^[4]
4. therefore, consequently, often with doncs.^[6][1][4]
5. Expressing a wish: Així plogués demà!^[6][4]
6. (with com) Just as; and also.^[6]

Related words

• sí
• aital
• aitant
• Latin sīc
• Old Occitan aissí
• Italian così

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 7, 913
3. ^ a b c d Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. així
4. ^ a b c d e f g Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. així
5. ^ Real Acadèmia de Cultura Valenciana, Diccionari general de la llengua valenciana (online, in the Normes del Puig spelling), https://www.racv.es, p. s.v. així
6. ^ a b c d e Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. així
7. ^ a b Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 847
8. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 376
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. així
11. ^ a b c Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. així
12. ^ Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. així