Etymologically

ãlj

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 04:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.

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