unde

Forms

unde^[1] Une is a popular form, and before /t/ the word is often shortened to un’: „un’ te duci?” “where are you going?”.^[2][3] Transylvanian speech has inde, also in pe inde “through where”.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin unde (“from where, whence”).^{[4][3][5][2][1]} Tiktin explains that the Latin adverb meant “whence”, and that once a clarifying de was put before it, as in Italian donde and French dont, it took the meaning “where” and replaced ubi, whose Romanian descendant is the old iuo.^[2] The Latin adverb comes from an earlier cunde, formed on quī (“which, what”).^[1]

It survives in Megleno-Romanian iundi and Istro-Romanian dende.^[4][1] The Aromanian counterpart is iu, which continues that Latin adverb.^[1] Its Romance cognates include Italian onde, Portuguese onde and Occitan on.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record to the Codicele Voronețean (c. 1563–1583), and Tiktin cites the same text, in the Epistle of James (4:1).^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the question “where?” the word introduces clauses of place, “where”, and relative clauses, “in which”.^[5][3] Ciorănescu notes that the adverb easily took the place of a relative pronoun with a preposition, as in cortul unde el ședea “the tent where he sat”, and that this use is common in popular Wallachian speech.^[4] Popular speech also uses it for “when”, as in Dosoftei, and for “because”, as in Ispirescu.^[4][5] The phrase unde și unde “here and there” appears in Miron Costin's chronicle.^[2]

The compound undeva “somewhere” and the related oriunde “anywhere” are formed on it.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1563 – the first record, in the Codicele Voronețean.^[3][2]
• 1801 – Klein's dictionary glosses Unde with Latin ubi, quo.^[7]
• 1862 – Pontbriant glosses it “where, in what place”.^[8]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (interrogative) where?, in what place? With de, “from where?”: de unde ai aflat? “where did you hear that?”.^[5][3][1]
2. Suddenly, all at once.^[5]
3. (in rhetorical questions) Expresses denial: unde mai are timp de joacă? “how could he still have time to play?”.^[5][3]

Conjunction

1. Introduces a clause of place, “where, to where”: du-te unde vrei “go where you like”.^[5]
2. Introduces a relative clause, “in which”.^[5]
3. Introduces an object clause: știu unde locuiește “I know where he lives”.^[5]
4. (popular) When, at the moment that.^[5][4]
5. (popular) because, since.^[5][4]

Word family

• undeva
• oriunde

Usage notes

De unde până unde? means “how come? on what grounds?”, and de unde! means “not at all, impossible!”.^[5][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. unde
3. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1372
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. unde
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1171
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 9062
7. ^ Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 464
8. ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 761