Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word ãlj

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1813 Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu
Inherited from
Latin illi
Ultimate origin
Latin ille

Forms

ãlj (unstressed dative singular of el and ea; unstressed accusative plural of elj)[1]

  • Cunia lists ãlj with the other short forms of el: lji, lj, li, ãl, ul, lu, u and l.[2][3]
  • Other spellings: ilj, lji and lj in Wiktionary;[1] ÎL'Ĭ in Papahagi's dictionary, an accusative and dative form of el and ea;[4] l'i, as dative singular and accusative plural, in Boiagi and the other older sources Pascu cites.[5]

Etymology

The pronoun ãlj is inherited from Latin illī (“to him, to her”), the dative singular of ille (“that”).[1] Pascu files the forms under the pronoun el, from *illus, the popular form of ille, and explains the accusative plural as an unstressed form of the nominative plural elj.[5] Papahagi's dictionary also derives the pronoun from *illus and ille.[6] According to de Vaan, ille replaced the older olle, and the change of the first vowel is explained either by analogy with iste or by a sound change.[7]

The same unstressed dative is Romanian îi,[1] Megleno-Romanian îl[8] and Istro-Romanian âlʼ.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record Pascu cites is l'i in Boiagi's grammar of 1813, as a dative singular and as an accusative plural.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is the unstressed indirect object of both el “he” and ea “she”, and the unstressed direct object of the masculine plural elj “they”.{K}[4] Papahagi's dictionary quotes a luĭ lji-ded “I gave it to him”.[6]

Timeline

  • 1813 – l'i in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[5]
  • 1963 – Papahagi's dictionary heads ÎL'Ĭ as an accusative and dative form of el and ea.[10]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. (to) him, (to) her (unstressed dative singular).{K}[4][5]
  2. them (unstressed accusative plural, masculine or mixed).{K}[5]
  • el
  • ea
  • elj
  • Romanian îi
  • Istro-Romanian âlʼ

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 433
  3. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 174
  4. ^ a b c Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 688
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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, 82
  6. ^ a b Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 527
  7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  8. ^ Papahagi, Pericle (1902), Megleno-românii: studiu etnografico-filologic I, București: Academia Română (with a glossary), p. 87
  9. ^ Kovačec, August (1998), Istrorumunjsko-hrvatski rječnik (s gramatikom i tekstovima), Pula
  10. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 584

Related etymologies

  • featã · also from Latin
  • cu · also from Latin
  • cã · also from Latin
  • tu · also from Latin
  • shi · also from Latin
  • di · also from Latin
  • am · also from Latin
  • yin · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Ãlj.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/%C3%A3lj. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·