así

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish assí.^[2][1] Corominas explains it as formed from Old Spanish a- + sí (“thus”), the older adverb, which is from Latin sīc (“thus, so”); the ⟨a-⟩ merely lengthens the adverb, on the model of the many adverbs and phrases beginning with ⟨a⟩ (apenas, afuera, a menudo).^[2][3][4] Wiktionary instead derives it from Late Latin ac sīc (“and thus”), a combination attested in the Itinerarium Egeriae.^[1] The REW compares the Romance forms with a prefixed demonstrative ⟨a⟩ in Portuguese assim, Catalan així and Romanian așa, while French ainsi and Italian così are formed differently.^[5][1] For the Catalan form Coromines considers the first element uncertain, probably the demonstrative particle of eccum.^[6]

The Latin adverb is the locative of an old demonstrative stem *so- with the particle -ce.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Glosas Silenses, of the second half of the 10th century, are the first record.^[2] In the Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140) the moneylenders say „Non se faze assí el mercado” “that is not how business is done”.^[8][9]

Semantic evolution

The old simple sí “thus” was still common in archaic authors and occasionally in the 14th century, especially where “thus” meant “also” or in wishes: Berceo's „yo te ruego, sí veas paraíso” “I pray you, so may you see paradise”.^[2] With a verb it formed affirmative phrases (sí fago “I do so”, in the Cid), the source of the affirmative sí.^[2]

Popular variants are widespread: asín, with -n by analogy with non, bien, sin, según;^[10] ansí, influenced by the preposition en; and asina, ansina, with the -a of aína, fuera, nunca.^[2] Ansí is found in the Fuero de Guadalajara (1219) and was very common in the Middle Ages and the Golden Age, though Juan de Valdés already objected to it; it lives on in Spanish America, Leonese and Judeo-Spanish.^[2] The pair así o asá imitates allí / allá, and the jocular asado appears in Quevedo.^[2]

Así que is usually consecutive, “so that”, as early as Sem Tob; in the sense “as soon as” it is found in the 17th century and is now familiar in Argentina, Andalusia and elsewhere.^[2] Así before an adjective with the value of tan “so” occurs in Valdés and today in Argentina, perhaps through Italian.^[2] The Spanish American así no más means “so-so, any old way”.^[2]

Timeline

• 950–1000 – the Glosas Silenses.^[2]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid: „Non se faze assí el mercado”.^[8]
• 1219 – the variant ansí in the Fuero de Guadalajara.^[2]
• 1492 – Nebrija's Latin–Spanish dictionary renders Latin sic and ita as assi.^[10]
• 1518 – first record in the Americas, in Santo Domingo.^[11]
• 1535 – Juan de Valdés, in the Diálogo de la lengua, rejects ansí.^[2][12]
• 17th century – así que “as soon as”, in Estebanillo González.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. thus, like this, like that, in the way just mentioned or about to be described: Hazlo así.^[4][1]
2. (followed by de) So, this or that much (grading an adjective or adverb): No lo imaginaba así de grande.^[4]
3. therefore, consequently.^[4]
4. For example.^[4]
5. (obsolete) Also, likewise.^[4]
6. (obsolete) So much, to such a degree, with a following que: “so … that”.^[4]

Conjunction

1. Even if, although, with the subjunctive: Iré, así llueva a mares.^[4]
2. (in correlation) Whether … or.^[4]
3. (rare, with como) Both … and, as well as.^[4]

Interjection

1. Followed by the subjunctive, voicing a wish, often of misfortune on someone.^[1]

Word family

• asimismo
• asá

Related words

• sí
• Latin sīc
• Portuguese assim
• Catalan així

Usage notes

Common phrases include así como “as well as”, así que “so”, así y todo “even so” and así así “so-so”.^[1][2] The forms ansí and ansina are now rustic or regional.^[2]

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 n o p q Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 376
3. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. así
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. así
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 409
9. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1929), Vocabulario medieval castellano, Madrid: Librería y Casa Editorial Hernando, p. s.v. así
10. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. así
11. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. así
12. ^ Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 196