Etymologically
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aush

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Forms

aush m (plural aush or aushanj, definite singular aushlu, definite plural aushlji)[1]

  • Plural aush or aushanj, definite singular aushlu.[2][1] Papahagi gives the plural aúșean'i.[3]
  • Other spellings: auşu in Mihăileanu's Romanian-based spelling;[4] aușu in DIARO;[5] aus in Weigand's glossary;[6] aushŭ in Bara's dictionary.[7]
  • Regional forms: aúşu, plural aúşî, in the dialect of Metsovo.[8]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin avus (“grandfather”) with the diminutive suffix -ush.[3][9][10][1] Ciorănescu notes that the regular outcome of the Latin word has disappeared, and that the form shows the added suffix; he doubts Pușcariu's view that the suffix came from contamination with neaoș, and rejects Pascu's earlier derivation from the word for "snow".[10]

De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *awo- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂- (“grandfather (on the mother's side)”).[11] REW lists descendants of the Latin word in northern Italian dialects, beside the Aromanian derivative.[12]

The Romanian auș "old man, grandfather" is a rare word recorded in Oltenia and now found only in dictionaries.[10][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pascu lists Boiagi's grammar of 1813 among his sources for the word, glossed "old man".[9]

Semantic evolution

From the Latin "grandfather", the word came to mean an old man in general,[2][3] and, as an adjective, old.[6] It also means an ancestor, a forefather.[1][2] Papahagi quotes aúșu ca Dumnidză ("as old as God"),[3] and Cunia aush tsi lu-agãrshi moartea ("so old that death has forgotten him").[2]

Timeline

  • 1813 – recorded in Boiagi's grammar, one of the sources Pascu names for the word.[9]
  • 1894 – aus “old man” and “old” in Weigand's glossary.[6]
  • 1901 – auşu “old man” in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An old man.[2][3][1]
  2. An ancestor, forefather.[2][1]

Adjective

  1. Old.[6][5]

Word family

  • aushescu
  • strãush
  • Romanian auș

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 161
  3. ^ a b c d e Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 180
  4. ^ a b Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 58
  5. ^ a b Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 118
  6. ^ a b c d Weigand, Gustav (1894), Die Aromunen: ethnographisch-philologisch-historische Untersuchungen, vol. II: Volksliteratur der Aromunen (with a glossary), Leipzig: J. A. Barth, p. 296
  7. ^ Bara, Mariana (2024), Dictsiunarlu ti cathi dzuuã, online at dixionline.net
  8. ^ Δασούλας, Φώτης (2013), Το βλαχικό ιδίωμα του Μετσόβου, 2nd ed.
  9. ^ a b c 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, 47
  10. ^ a b c Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001)
  11. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  12. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  13. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București