niscai

Forms

niscai m or f or n (indeclinable)^[1] Old and regional forms include nescai, niscare, nescare and nescari: „Cînd avăm nescari pizmitori spre noi” “when we have some enviers against us” (Coresi, 1581).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nesciō quālis (“I do not know of what kind”), from nesciō (“I do not know”) and quālis (“of what kind”).^[4][3][5][2] CADE and Wiktionary give the accusative nesciō quālem.^[6][1] Pușcariu groups it with niște and neștine, compounds whose first part is the same Latin verb.^[7][8] Tiktin enters the word under niscare, with this form among its variants; niscaiva adds -va on the model of careva and cineva.^[9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is niscare in the Slavonic–Romanian Gospel of Sibiu (1551–1553), at Matthew 9:18.^[5] MDA2 dates the word from Coresi's Carte de învățătură of 1581, where nescari means “some”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

It has meant “some, a certain number or amount of” since the 16th century and goes before a plural noun.^[2][4] Tiktin quotes niscare in a print of 1642 and niscai in Miron Costin's chronicle;^[5][3] MDA2 also gives the sense “a little”.^[5][3] It is now popular, beside the standard niște.^[4][10]

Timeline

• 1551–1553 – niscare in the Sibiu Gospel.^[5]
• 1581 – nescari “some” in Coresi's Carte de învățătură.^[3][2]
• 1642 – niscare in a book of teachings.^[5]
• 17th century – niscaiva, the form with -va.^[3][9]
• 1688 – nescare in the Bucharest Bible (Acts 9:2).^[11]

Meanings

Determiner

1. (popular) some: an undetermined amount or number of, before a plural noun; the same as niscaiva.^[4][1]
2. (dated, popular) a little.^[3]

Word family

• niscaiva

Related words

• niște
• neștine
• Latin nesciō

Usage notes

The stress falls on the first syllable or, less often, on the second (niscái).^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. niscai
3. ^ 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. 2, 157
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 717
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. niscare
6. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. niscai
7. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 101
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5899
9. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. niscaiva
10. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 3, 212
11. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Fapte 9:2