zău

Forms

zău^[1] Old texts also write dzău: „Eu, dzău, numai doi cai am avut acum” “I, by God, had only two horses then” (a document of 1657).^[2] In Maramureș the form is dzău, in Lăpuș zo.^[3] In the 19th century the word was often written zeu, like the noun.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin deus (“god”), used in oaths as “by God”.^[5][4][6][1] Ciorănescu calls it a doublet of zeu “god”, which also comes from the Latin word.^[5] The Academy dictionaries are more cautious: MDA2 marks the origin as unknown and compares zeu, and the DLR only compares it.^[7][2] Wiktionary gives both explanations: the Latin word itself, or a variant of that noun which kept the oath use.^[1] Tiktin takes the interjection as a whole oath cut down to its first word, and compares German Gott ist mein Zeuge (“God is my witness”).^[4] For Maramureș, Ștef connects the local form with the oath „jur pe Dum'nedzău” “I swear by God”, and the form of Lăpuș with the regional name of God.^[3]

Aromanian keeps the word only in the phrase niți dzău (“not a word”).^[5][8] Its Romance cognates include Italian dio, Portuguese deus, French dieu, Catalan déu and Spanish dios.^[5][9] The Latin noun comes from Old Latin deivos and Proto-Indo-European *deywós, a derivative of *dyew- (“sky, heaven”).^[1][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1563, in Coresi's Praxiu.^[4] MDA2 and the DLR begin with the Palia de la Orăștie of 1581, where the word already strengthens a reproach: „N-ai neci lăsat să sărut feciorii și featele meale, dzău, nebuneaște ai făcut” “you did not even let me kiss my sons and my daughters; truly, you have acted foolishly”.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word backs up a statement, much like “truly”.^[2] A manuscript of the early 17th century renders the Gospel formula “verily I say unto you” with it: „Zău zic voo că cine va creade în mine și în cuvintele meale, nu va muri în veaci” “truly I tell you that whoever believes in me and in my words will never die”.^[2][4]

In folk poetry a zice zău means “to swear”.^[4][6] Formulas such as nu știu, zău came to express doubt or wonder, and with a request the word means “please”.^[7][6] Modern dictionaries label it popular.^[7][11]

Timeline

• 1563 – the first record, in Coresi's Praxiu.^[4]
• 1581 – dzău in the Palia de la Orăștie.^[7][2]
• early 17th century – zău, zic voo “truly I say unto you” in a Gospel manuscript.^[2][4]
• 1657 – dzău in a private document.^[2]
• 1682 – the word in the Moscow Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[12]
• 19th century – the spelling zeu is common.^[4]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Used to back up a statement or a denial: “I swear”, “upon my word”; often reinforced by așa.^[6][7][1]
2. Really, certainly, of course.^[6][1]
3. In formulas such as nu știu, zău: expressing doubt or wonder, “I wonder whether”.^[6][7]
4. Please: adds weight to a request or an urging.^[6][7][1]

Related words

• zeu
• Dumnezeu
• Latin deus

Usage notes

Common phrases are zău așa “I mean it”, a zice zău “to swear” and ba (nu) zău “on the contrary, I assure you”.^[6][1] Ciorănescu notes the western Transylvanian greeting zo te cuște, which Drăganu traced to a Latin blessing “God keep you”.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. zău
3. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2021), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din județul Maramureș, 3rd ed., Baia Mare, p. s.v. zău
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. zău
5. ^ a b c d e 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. zău
6. ^ 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. 1219
7. ^ 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, 1545
8. ^ 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, 80
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2610
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. zău
12. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. zău