așa

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin eccum (“look, here is”) combined with sīc (“so, thus”), which gave ⟨acși⟩ and then ⟨ași⟩; the final /a/ was then added, as in abia.^[2][3][4][5] This is the view of Hasdeu, Tiktin, the DA, CADE and DEX.^[2] Pușcariu and Ciorănescu start instead from ac (“and”) with the same adverb, which Wiktionary also prefers;^[2][6][1] DELR finds it unlikely for its sense, since that word meant “and”.^[2][6][1] Candrea and Densusianu proposed aequē (“equally”) with the same adverb.^[2]

The adverb survives in all four branches: Aromanian acși or Aromanian ași, Megleno-Romanian șa and Istro-Romanian așå.^[2][7][8] Its Romance cognates include Italian così, French ainsi, Catalan així, Spanish así and Portuguese assim.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates it to about 1500, in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, which spells it așea, așe and așa.^[2][9] Tiktin and MDA2 cite the Codicele Voronețean.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The adverb of manner “so, thus” soon became a word of agreement and conclusion, and it served as the usual “yes” before the Slavic loan da¹ spread in the 19th century; the Bucharest Bible of 1909 still writes „așa, așa” for “yes, yes”.^[10] It also qualifies adjectives (“so sad”) and, as an invariable adjective before a noun, means “such”.^[5][6] Regional forms include așe, așea, așia and, in Transylvania, șa.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – first record, in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[2][9]
• c. 1500 – așeași “thus; at once”, in the same text.^[2]
• c. 1563 – the Codicele Voronețean.^[4][3]
• before 1849 – așadar “therefore”, in Conachi.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. “so, thus”, in this way: Fă așa! “Do it like this!”;^[5][6] așa-zis “so-called”.^[5][6]
2. (conclusive) “So, therefore”: așa că “so (that)”.^[5][6]
3. In the same way: și așa mai departe “and so on”.^[5]
4. Just so, exactly;^[5][6] nu-i așa? “isn't it?, right?”^[5][6]
5. “So, so much”, to such a degree: așa de frumos “so beautiful”.^[5]
6. Casually, at random, without reason: am întrebat și eu așa “I just asked”.^[5][6]

Adjective

1. (invariable, before a noun) “Such”: așa ceva “such a thing”.^[5][6]

Word family

• așadar

Related words

• Latin sīc

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. așa
3. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. așa
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 118
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 70
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. așa
7. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 173
8. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 166
9. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 1:4
10. ^ Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. da