vai

Etymology

DER takes it as an expressive creation, like the similar cries of many languages, and says that a direct descent from Latin vae (“woe”) is not possible.^[2] Tiktin also calls it a widespread sound word, and Wiktionary calls it probably expressive.^[3][1] MDA2 and DEX instead derive it from or compare it with the Latin word, and MDA2 also compares Albanian vaj.^[4][5] Pascu set the Aromanian interjection beside the Latin one.^[6]

DER compares Modern Greek βαί (vaí) and Italian guai.^[2] Babiniotis takes Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí), an interjection of Hellenistic Greek, as a Semitic loan.^[7] The interjection has the same form south of the Danube: Aromanian vai.^[8][2] DER treats vah, an interjection from Turkish, as its doublet.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1504, in the Slavonic–Romanian documents.^[3] In Romanian texts it appears in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century, at Psalm 119:5, as a cry of grief.^[9] MDA2's first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The interjection first expressed pain and grief, and it widened to pity, regret and annoyance, and also to surprise, impatience and even delight.^[5][10] Used as a noun it means “lament, wailing” and “suffering”, as in a fi vai de cineva “to be in a sorry state”.^[5] Romanian derived from it the interjection valeu, with an expressive l, the noun vaiet “lament” and the verb văita “to complain”.^[2] DER doubts a direct link between văita and the Albanian verb for “to lament”, and rejects Latin vāgītō (“to wail”) as its source.^[2]

Timeline

• 1504 – a record in the Slavonic–Romanian documents, the first.^[3]
• early 16th century – vai in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki (Psalm 119:5).^[9]
• 1551–1558 – in the Voroneț psalter at the same verse.^[9]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Alas, woe: expressing pain, grief or despair.^[5][1]
2. Expressing pity, regret or annoyance: Vai, am uitat cheile!^[5]
3. Expressing joy, admiration, impatience or surprise.^[5][10]

Noun

1. A lament or wail; suffering.^[5]

Word family

• valeu
• vaiet
• văita
• văicări
• văicăreală
• văina

Related words

• vah
• Aromanian vai

Usage notes

Ca vai de lume means “in a wretched state”, and cu chiu, cu vai “with great difficulty”.^[5] A separate regional noun vai names the removable cover of an old beehive; its origin is unknown.^[4][10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. vai
3. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. vai
4. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1407
5. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1181
6. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 182
7. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας, p. 1063
8. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1099
9. ^ a b c Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 119:5
10. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. vai