păsa

păsa¹ to care, matter

Etymology tree of păsa¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin pendō

Latin pēnsō

French peser

Italian pensare

Romanian păsa

Spanish pensar

Spanish pesar

French penser

From the same root · păsa¹

Italian sospendere ← pendō

Latin appendō ← pendō

Latin compendium ← pendō

Latin compendō ← pendō

Latin dēpendō ← pendō

Latin dispendō ← pendō

Latin expendō ← pendō

Latin impendō ← pendō

Latin pēnsiō ← pendō

Latin perpendō ← pendō

Latin pondō ← pendō

Latin rependo ← pendō

Latin stīpendium ← pendō

Latin suspendō ← pendō

Spanish suspender ← pendō

Latin compēnsō ← pēnsō

Latin dispēnsō ← pēnsō

Latin pēnsitō ← pēnsō

French pensée ← penser

Pronunciation

• /pəˈsa/^[1]

Forms

păsa (third-person singular present pasă, past participle păsat, third-person subjunctive pese), 1st conjugation.^[1]

Etymology

The word for “to care, matter” is inherited from Latin pēnsō (“to weigh”), the frequentative of pendō (“to hang, weigh”).^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Ciorănescu, following Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu and the REW, takes it straight from the Latin verb, beside the noun păs “weight, worry” from pēnsum (“a weight”).^[6][7] Its Romance cognates are Italian pesare, French peser, Spanish pesar and Portuguese pesar.^[6][7]

The sense “to worry” has parallels in mi pesa, Old French moi poise and me pesa “it weighs on me, it grieves me”.^[7] Tiktin compares the Latin phrase nihil pensi habeo “I attach no weight to it”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records are in the psalters of the 1570s, with the physical sense “to weigh heavily on”.^[2][4][8] Coresi's Psalter of 1570 says of the speaker's sins: „ca taru greu păsară spre mine” “like a heavy load they weighed on me”.^[4][8] The Psaltirea Scheiană has „Dzua și noaptea păsă spre mere măra ta” “day and night your hand weighed on me”.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

From “to weigh heavily, press on” the impersonal verb with a dative came to mean “to be a burden to someone”, then “to worry, be troubled”, and above all, in negative and rhetorical questions, “not to care”: nu-mi pasă “I don't care”, ce-mi pasă? “what do I care?”.^[5][4][3] The DLR dates the impersonal sense “to be concerned” to the end of the 16th century.^[5] The physical sense lived on in folk poetry: Graur cites „pésă-i capul de parale” “her head is weighed down with coins”.^[9][10] Regional speech also has “to ache, hurt”.^[2]

The negative derivatives nepăsare “indifference” and nepăsător “indifferent” are Romanian formations.^[6]

Timeline

• 1570 – păsară “they weighed heavily” in Coresi's Psalter, the first record.^[8]
• c. 1573–1578 – păsă in the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[2][4]
• late 16th century – nu-i păsa “he did not care”, the first record of the impersonal sense.^[5]
• 1705 and 1744 – păsându-ne de bir “the tax weighing on us” in petitions.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (impersonal, with a dative) To care, worry, be troubled: Nu-i pasă de nimeni. “He cares about nobody.”^[3][11]
2. (dated and popular) To weigh heavily or press down on something.^[3][2]
3. (impersonal, with a dative) To feel the weight of something unpleasant and bear it with difficulty.^[3]
4. (regional) To ache, hurt.^[2]

Word family

• nepăsare
• nepăsător

păsa² to go

Pronunciation

• /pəˈsa/^[1]

Forms

păsa (third-person singular present pasă, past participle păsat), 1st conjugation, used mostly in the imperative pasă or pas.^[1][2]

Etymology

The word for “to go” is inherited from Vulgar Latin *passō (“to step, pass”), from passus (“step”).^[3][12][1] DER calls the Latin source probable and lists the verb among the derivatives of pas “step”.^[13] Its Romance cognates are Italian passare, French passer, Spanish pasar and Portuguese passar.^[13] The French loan pasa “to pass” is a doublet.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Codicele Voronețean, a 16th-century copy of the Acts and Epistles, in the imperative: „Păsați cu pace” “go in peace”.^[2][14] Coresi's Gospel book of 1574 has „Păsați după mine” “follow me”.^[14]

Semantic evolution

In the old texts the verb meant “to go, set off”, and was used mostly in the imperative: pasă! “go!”, păsați! “go (you all)!”, păsăm! “let us go!”.^[12][14] Tiktin finds the imperative frequent in Coresi.^[12] Dosoftei wrote „Păsați acasă” “go home”, and Ispirescu „Pasă cu Dumnezeu” “go with God”.^[12] Alecsandri and other 19th-century poets used other forms of the verb, such as „pasă mândru-n cale” “he goes proudly on his way”.^[12][15]

From the imperative followed by de or să came the popular use as a challenge or warning, “try to…, dare to…”: pas de te mai înțelege cu el “just try to get along with him now”.^[3][12] The phrase Pas, Burdele, la surcele is said of someone who makes others do his own job.^[2] In Maramureș the verb is still recorded as “to set off, go”.^[16]

Timeline

• c. 1563–1583 – păsați “go!” in the Codicele Voronețean, the first record.^[2][14]
• 1574 – păsați după mine in Coresi's Gospel book.^[14]
• 1660 – păsăm “let us go” in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[17]
• 1688 – păsați 24 times in the Bucharest Bible.^[18]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated, mostly imperative) To go, set off: Pasă la casa ta! “Go home!”^[3][1]
2. (popular and familiar, as an encouragement or a warning, followed by de or să) Try to…, dare to…^[3][19]