menys

Forms

menys^[1] Old Catalan writes meins (12th century), menys and sometimes mens, which in the early manuscripts can still stand for the palatal.^[2] The DCVB records [méɲs] and [meɲʧ], Wiktionary gives Central [ˈmɛɲs] and [ˈmeɲs] for Balearic, North-Western and Valencian.^[3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin minus (“less”), the neuter and adverb of minor (“smaller”), the comparative of parvus (“small”).^[2][4][3][1]

The palatal /ɲ/ is unexpected from Latin ⟨minus⟩.^[2][3] The DCVB, the GDLC and Bruguera explain it by an analogical Vulgar Latin comparative *minius, made after maius (“greater”), peius (“worse”) and melius (“better”).^[3][5][4] Coromines also explains it by the influence of these comparatives in -ius, but does not commit himself to such a Vulgar Latin form.^[2] The palatal is general from the origins, and Old Occitan has it too: the troubadours wrote Old Occitan menhs and ⟨meins⟩, and every modern Occitan dialect keeps the /n/.^[2]

The same Latin word is Italian meno, French moins, Spanish menos and Portuguese menos.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a 12th-century document from the Alt Cardener, which complains that a man took away pigs and oxen, per zo mas ne valrà tots temps meins, "so that the farm will always be worth less for it".^[2] The spelling ⟨ein⟩ stands for the palatal /eɲ/.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From early on menys de meant "without", from an older sense "except": Llull asks how a body could see when it is menys de l’ànima, and a Roussillon document of 1302 speaks of lending with or without a pledge.^[2] Muntaner and James I's chronicle use it the same way; the construction faded after the Middle Ages and survives only in the central Pyrenees.^[2]

Other old uses are al menys "at least", ja menys "even less" and los menys "the minority", all in 14th- and 15th-century texts.^[7] The dictionaries of 1803 and 1839 mark the preposition "without" as old.^[8][9] Martí Gadea's dictionary of 1891 adds the arithmetic sign, and Fabra makes the word standard as adverb and adjective.^[10][11] The derivative almenys is recorded in 1309, and menyscabar in Llull.^[4]

Timeline

• 12th century – meins in a document from the Alt Cardener.^[2]
• 1240s–1270s – James I's chronicle uses mens and menys.^[2]
• Late 13th century – Llull's menys de l’ànima, “without the soul”.^[2]
• 1302 – menys de rauba in a Roussillon document.^[2]
• 1309 – the derivative almenys.^[4]
• 1381 – Metge's ja menys, “still less”.^[7]
• 1839 – Labèrnia's dictionary marks the preposition “without” as old.^[9]
• 1932 – Fabra's dictionary gives it as adverb and adjective.^[11]

Meanings

Adverb

1. less, to a lower degree; expresses a comparison of inferiority: És menys alt que el seu germà.^[12][5]
2. menys de: less than, of a time or amount: en menys d’una setmana.^[12]
3. a menys que: unless;^[13] no menys que: as much as.^[12]
4. minus, taking away: Deu menys tres fan set.^[12][5]

Adjective

1. Fewer, a smaller amount of: Hi ha menys gent que ahir.^[12]

Preposition

1. except: Hi van anar tots menys ell.^[5][3]

Noun

1. (mathematics) The minus sign, −, of subtraction and of negative numbers.^[12][5]

Word family

• almenys
• menyscabar
• menyscabament
• menyscapte

Related words

• menor
• menut
• minvar
• Latin minus
• Old Occitan menhs
• Spanish menos

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 j k l m 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. 5, 591
3. ^ a b c d e Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. menys
4. ^ a b c d Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 585
5. ^ 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. menys
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5594
7. ^ a b Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. menys
8. ^ Esteve, Joaquim; Bellvitges, Josep; Juglà, Antoni (1803–1805), Diccionario catalán-castellano-latino, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. menys
9. ^ a b Labèrnia, Pere (1839–1840), Diccionari de la llengua catalana ab la correspondencia castellana y llatina, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. menys
10. ^ Martí Gadea, Joaquim (1891), Novísimo diccionario general valenciano-castellano, Valencia, p. s.v. menys
11. ^ a b Fabra, Pompeu (1932), Diccionari general de la llengua catalana, Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, p. s.v. menys
12. ^ a b c d e f 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. menys
13. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. cinc