acoace

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *eccum hocce, the deictic particle eccum joined to *hocce, a form of hōc (“hither”) with the particle -ce.^[1][2][3] DELR names Hasdeu, Tiktin, Pușcariu, the DA and Ciorănescu for this view, and points out that eccum hōc also lives on in Spanish and Portuguese, and the form in -ce in Sardinian.^[1] The ending -e is the same as in aici, and the initial a- is the one of acest and acolo.^[1]

DEX and DLRM derive it instead from *hacce, from hāc (“this way”), after Philippide.^[4][5][1] DELR finds this hard to accept: a Latin /kʷa/ would have become /pa/ or lost its labial element unless the hiatus lasted unusually long, which the other compounds of the particle, such as aci and acel, do not show; the sense of direction and the form aoa also favour the etymon with o.^[1] Hasdeu also took it from the Latin compound with the form in -ce, and saw its shortened forms in încoace and încoa.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is the phrase dentr-acoace in a document of 1616.^[1] From the start it appears after a preposition, with the sense “hither, towards the speaker”.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The adverb survived only inside phrases with prepositions: în acoace and într-acoace, “in this direction”.^[1][6] Hasdeu stressed that it does not mean “here” but movement towards here, and that într-acoace paired with într-acolo gives “this way and that”.^[6] Alecsandri used the Moldavian form acoaci in his plays.^[6][7] Ciorănescu derives the common încoace from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 1616 – dentr-acoace in a historical document, the first record.^[1]
• 1630-1650 – în acoace in a life of St Basil.^[1]
• 1682 – într-acoace in Dosoftei's lives of the saints.^[1]
• 1931 – CADE records the variant acoaci, with a quotation from Alecsandri.^[7]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (regional, archaic) hither, this way, towards the speaker; the same as încoace, mostly in într-acoace.^[4][1][2]

Word family

• dincoace
• înacoace
• încoace

Related words

• acolo
• aici
• aoa

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. acoace
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b 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. încoace
4. ^ a b DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 7
5. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 5
6. ^ a b c d Hasdeu, B. P. (1886–1898), Etymologicum Magnum Romaniae: dicționarul limbei istorice și poporane a românilor, 4 vols. (A–Bărbat), București: Socec, p. s.v. acoace
7. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. acoace