ci

Etymology

It is the unstressed form from Romanian ce (“what”), the interrogative and relative pronoun, which comes from Latin quid (“what”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} In unstressed position /e/ was raised to /i/, as in nici from older nece and căci from older căce.^[2] The change began in combinations such as ⟨ce și⟩ and ⟨ce-i⟩, where the old pronoun still shows through.^[6]

The old texts write the conjunction ⟨ce⟩, the same as the pronoun;^[7][3][6] ⟨ci⟩ is rare until the late 18th century and then replaces it, and the conjunction parted from the pronoun in the 17th and 18th centuries.^[7][3][6] Meyer-Lübke took the old ⟨ce⟩ for the relative pronoun, a view the DA and Ciorănescu follow.^[6][3][8] Cipariu and Tiktin instead derived the conjunction from Latin quīn (“but rather”);^[3][7] Tiktin's own dictionary leaves the choice open, depending on which form one takes for the older.^[3][7] The conjunction has a match south of the Danube in Aromanian ți.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the conjunction to about 1500, counting the old form ce.^[2] Tiktin's first record is the Codicele Voronețean, which still writes ce: „Eu nu numai legatu se fiu, ce și se moriu gata suntu” “I am ready not only to be bound but also to die” (Acts 21:13).^[7] The spelling ci appears in a document of 1591 printed in Hasdeu's Cuvente den bătrâni.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

In the old language the conjunction also followed an affirmative clause, with the sense “but, yet”, and could mean “therefore” or “so that”.^[7][5][6] Modern standard Romanian keeps it mainly after a negation, where it corrects what was denied (“not this, but that”), the role of German sondern beside aber.^[4][9] Before an imperative it shows impatience, a use found in Eminescu and in regional speech.^[7][4]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – first record of the conjunction, as ce.^[2]
• c. 1563-1583 – ce “but rather” in the Codicele Voronețean.^[7]
• 1591 – the spelling ci in a document.^[5][7]
• late 18th century – ci displaces the old ce.^[7][6]

Meanings

Conjunction

1. (after a negation) but, rather, on the contrary: Nu am venit azi, ci ieri.^[4][5][1]
2. (old and popular, after an affirmative clause) yet, nevertheless; after a conditional clause, but.^[4][5]
3. (regional, often before an imperative, showing impatience) come on, do: Ci spune odată!^[4][7]
4. (rare) therefore, so.^[4][5]

Related words

• ce
• Aromanian ți

Usage notes

Scriban warned against dar in the corrective sense (nu opt, dar zece), which he put down to French mais; the standard construction is nu opt, ci zece.^[9] A separate interjection ci, repeated as a cry of joy or to call cows, is recorded from 1892.^[2][6] MDA2 also lists ci as a form of the adverb aci.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. ci
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ce
4. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 181
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 391
6. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. ci
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. ci
8. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 30
9. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 275