un

Forms

un m (feminine una, masculine plural uns, feminine plural unes)^[1] A reduced form u, often written hu in old texts, is used when the number names a place in a series (l’u de maig, vint-i-u) and in tot és u; in Valencia it is the usual indefinite pronoun.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ūnus (“one”).^{[2][4][5][6][1]} At first only a numeral, it also became the indefinite article, with the plurals ⟨uns⟩ and ⟨unes⟩, as in all the Romance languages.^[2]

The same Latin word is Occitan un, Spanish uno, Portuguese um, Italian uno and Romanian unu.^[1][7]

The Latin word continues Old Latin oinos (the accusative ⟨oino⟩ is in the epitaph of a Scipio), from Proto-Italic *oinos and Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos (“one, single”); it is related to the English word one.^[8][1] Among its cognates are Ancient Greek οἰνή (oinḗ, “the one on a die”) and Old English ān.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

CICA's first record is in the Llibre dels judicis, of the first half of the 12th century.^[9] The DCVB's oldest quotation is from the Homilies d'Organyà, and Coromines dates the word to the beginnings of the language.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Llull uses un both as the cardinal number, the unit of which all other numbers are made, and as the indefinite article before a noun not mentioned before, as in the Fèlix (un caveller cassava).^[10] As a pronoun meaning one and the same, it appears in Llull's Contemplació (Déu és un en trinitat), and Coromines quotes Maragall's line about the Catalans who will one day be tots uns.^[2] Faraudo records it for 'sole, only' and for one of two, set against the other, as in the Curial.^[11]

The reduced pronoun u wavered with un in the 14th and 15th centuries, influenced by algú beside algun: Bernat Metge's Somni has both.^[2] Lacavalleria (1696) still gives hu as the normal pronoun, while Belvitges (1805) and Labèrnia admit it only in tot és u.^[2] Valencian kept u as the indefinite pronoun, as Ausiàs March already shows and Martí Gadea's dictionary of 1891 records.^[2] Before a numeral the plural means 'about' (uns tres dies).^[4][6]

Timeline

• 1100–1149 – first record in CICA, in the Llibre dels judicis.^[9]
• 1381 – Bernat Metge's Somni uses both u and un as pronouns.^[2][12]
• 1440 – the Curial e Güelfa sets una against altra.^[11]
• 1696 – Lacavalleria gives hu as the normal form of the pronoun.^[2]
• 1840 – Labèrnia admits u only in tot és u.^[2]
• 1891 – Martí Gadea refers un to the Valencian u, una.^[2][13]

Meanings

Numeral

1. one, the number of which all others are made by adding: Només tinc un germà.^[6][4][1]

Article

1. a, an; the indefinite article: Ha trucat un home.^[6][4][1]
2. (in the plural) some; before a numeral, about: Hi havia uns trenta convidats.^[6][1]

Pronoun

1. One person or thing: Ens n'ha donat un a cadascú.^[6][4]
2. Any person, people in general (hom): Un no sempre sap què fer.^[14]
3. (set against altre) The one, as opposed to the other: L’un riu i l’altre plora.^[6][11]

Adjective

1. One and the same, forming a unity.^[4][2]

Related words

• u
• únic
• unir
• unió
• Latin ūnus
• Occitan un
• Spanish uno

Usage notes

The DCVB and the RACV dictionary also record an old adverb un, a variant of on 'where'.^[4][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. 8, 977
3. ^ 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. u
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. un
5. ^ Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 936
6. ^ a b c d e f g Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. un
7. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954)
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ a b Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. un
10. ^ Nou glossari general lul·lià (NGGL), Centre de Documentació Ramon Llull, Universitat de Barcelona, https://nggl.ub.edu, p. s.v. un
11. ^ a b c Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. un
12. ^ Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. altre
13. ^ Martí Gadea, Joaquim (1891), Novísimo diccionario general valenciano-castellano, Valencia, p. s.v. un
14. ^ 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. un
15. ^ 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. un