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Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word cal

cal1 horse

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1770 Kavalliotis's Protopeiria
Inherited from
Latin caballus
Ultimate origin
Latin caballus
Etymology tree of cal1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin caballus
Aromanian cal
French cheval
Italian cavallo
From the same root · cal1
English cavalier ← caballus
Latin caballinus ← caballus

Forms

cal m (plural calj or cai)[1]

  • Plural calj or cai;[1][2] articled singular calu;[3][1] Wiktionary also gives calu as an alternative form.[3][1]
  • Other spellings: CAL, plural cál'i, articled cálu, plural cáli, in Papahagi's dictionary;[3] cal, plural -li, in Dalametra's dictionary;[4] κάλου (kálu), plural κάλ’, in Nikolaidis's Greek script;[5] Κάλου in Kavalliotis's word list, read by Meyer as kalu;[6] kal, plural kail’, in Weigand's glossary.[7]
  • Regional forms: calŭ in the atlas glossary;[8] cálu, plural cáĺi, in Metsovo;[9] the articled k'aļlu in the village of Turia.[10]

Etymology

The horse is inherited from Latin caballus (“horse, especially a workhorse”).[3][11][12][1] In Common Romance it replaced Latin equus as the word for "horse".[13] It is common to the four Eastern Romance languages: Romanian cal, Megleno-Romanian cal and Istro-Romanian co;[14][13][15] further west it gave Italian cavallo, French cheval and Spanish caballo.[14][16]

Latin caballus is itself a loanword of unclear source, according to de Vaan;[17] Greek has the older Ancient Greek καβάλλης (kabállēs, “nag”), which is independent of the Latin word, and Beekes compares Turkic and Persian words for a horse.[17]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Kavalliotis's word list of 1770, where Κάλου, read by Meyer as kalu, translates Greek ἄλογον "horse".[6]

Semantic evolution

From the Latin "workhorse"[17] the Aromanian word became the general name of the horse.[2][3] Dalametra and Papahagi list its kinds: cal di cãvalã "saddle horse", cal di furtie "pack horse", cal areati "stallion", cal shuts "gelding".[4][3] A fine steed is a cal tsi mãcã loclu shi bea niorlji, "a horse that eats the ground and drinks the clouds",[2][3] and nj-gioacã calu "my horse dances" means that things are going well.[2] Papahagi also gives the senses "dragonfly" and "tooth";[3] Dalametra records calu-a Dumnidzãlui as the name of an insect, and cal for the last stroke in the children's game of tipcat.[4]

Timeline

  • 1770 – Κάλου “horse” in Kavalliotis's word list.[6]
  • 1813 – cal in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[11]
  • 1894 – kal “horse” in Weigand's glossary.[7]
  • 1906 – cal “horse” in Dalametra's dictionary.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A horse.[2][3][1]
  2. A dragonfly.[3]
  3. A tooth.[3]
  4. In the game of tipcat, the last stroke.[4]

cal2 callus

Confidence
Uncertain

Forms

cal n (plural calusi, which Cunia marks as uncertain)[18]

  • The atlas glossary records calŭ, with a masculine plural, for a corn on the foot.[8]

Etymology

The sources give no origin for the callus.[18] Saramandu's glossary of the ALAR atlas records the word for a corn on the foot with the literal gloss "horse", which treats it as a figurative use of cal1.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A callus: skin hardened by rubbing, on the hands or feet.[18]
  2. A corn on the foot.[8]
  • Romanian cal

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 226
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 306
  4. ^ a b c d e Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 47
  5. ^ Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα, p. 186
  6. ^ a b c Meyer, Gustav (1895), Albanesische Studien IV: Das griechisch-südrumänisch-albanesische Wörterverzeichnis des Kavalliotis, Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, phil.-hist. Classe 132, p. 15
  7. ^ a b Weigand, Gustav (1894), Die Aromunen: ethnographisch-philologisch-historische Untersuchungen, vol. II: Volksliteratur der Aromunen (with a glossary), Leipzig: J. A. Barth, p. 309
  8. ^ a b c d Saramandu, Nicolae (2023), Glosar aromân, Fonetică și dialectologie XLII: 103–176, p. 118
  9. ^ Δασούλας, Φώτης (2013), Το βλαχικό ιδίωμα του Μετσόβου, 2nd ed.
  10. ^ Бара, Мариана; Каль, Теде; Соболев, Андрей Н. (2005), Южноарумынский говор села Турия (Малый диалектологический атлас балканских языков, серия монографий 1), p. 410
  11. ^ a b 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, 55
  12. ^ Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα
  13. ^ a b Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  14. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001)
  15. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 55
  16. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  17. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  18. ^ a b c Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 227

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

“Cal.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/cal. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·