Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word cale

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
Borrowed from
Turkish qal'a

Forms

cale m (plural caledz)[1]

  • Other spellings: Papahagi writes CALÉ, masculine, plural calédz, stressed on the last syllable;[2] Cunia syllabifies the plural ca-lédzĭ.[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Turkish qal'a (“fortress”), as Papahagi writes the Turkish word.[2]

Semantic evolution

Papahagi quotes the saying aspárdze calé tra s' fácă halé “he pulls down a fortress to make a privy”.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A fortress, a citadel: a place walled so strongly that it can hold out when it is besieged.[1][2]

Usage notes

The word for a road or way is cali: Cunia heads it cali/cale, and the feminine CALE of Papahagi and Pascu, from Latin callis (“path”), is that word.[1][2][3] Geagea also records an adverb calé “well”, from Modern Greek καλό (kaló), from Mihăileanu.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 229
  2. ^ a b c d e Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 307
  3. ^ 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, 56
  4. ^ Geagea, Christea (1932), Elementul grec în dialectul aromân, Cernăuți: Institutul de Arte Grafice și Editură Glasul Bucovinei (offprint from Codrul Cosminului VII, pp. 205–431), p. 324

Related etymologies

  • camã · also from Turkish
  • em · also from Turkish
  • cãsãbã · also from Turkish
  • anamã · also from Turkish
  • at · also from Turkish
  • yirã · also from Turkish
  • has · also from Turkish
  • nai · also from Turkish
Cite this entry

“Cale.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/cale. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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