Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word canda

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Compound
First attested
1813 Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu
Ultimate origins
Proto-Italic *kʷodAromanian anda
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quod
Aromanian cã
Aromanian canda
From the same root
Aromanian icã ← cã

Forms

canda[1]

  • Other spellings: CANDA in Papahagi;[2] cânda in Dalametra's Romanian-based spelling;[3] cánda in Mihăileanu;[4] kanda in Weigand's glossary, which analyses it as kə anda;[5] canda in DIARO, syllabified can-da.[6]

Etymology

It is from Aromanian cã + anda (“when”), in Papahagi's analysis.[2] Weigand and DIARO divide it in the same way.[5][6] The second part is the Aromanian conjunction for when, which Papahagi, Pascu and Geagea derive from Modern Greek άντα (ánta, “when”);[7][8][9] Kriaras records it in Medieval Greek as a form of όταν (ótan, “when”).[10]

Pascu, who files the word under anda among the Greek elements, takes it instead from a Greek compound of καί (kaí, “and”) with the same conjunction.[8] Papahagi also cites a derivation from ca and cãndu (“when”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pascu's sources for the word include Boiagi's grammar of 1813, and he glosses it “as if”.[8]

Semantic evolution

Papahagi gives two senses: “when”, as in cánda va fudzi, greá-n'í “when you leave, call me”, and “as if, it seems that”, as in cánda hi agiún “as if you were hungry”.[2] Cunia refers the first sense to cãndu and defines the word by the second, “it seems to me that”.[11] The older dictionaries record only “as if”.[4][3][5]

Timeline

  • 1813 – canda “as if” in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[8]
  • 1894 – kanda “as” in Weigand's glossary.[5]
  • 1901 – cánda “as if” in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[4]
  • 1906 – cânda “as if, it seems” in Dalametra's dictionary.[3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. When.[2][1]

Conjunction

  1. As if; it seems that.[11][2][4][3][12]

References

  1. ^ a b Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 231
  2. ^ a b c d e f Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 311
  3. ^ a b c d Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 47
  4. ^ a b c d Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 89
  5. ^ 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. 309
  6. ^ a b Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 164
  7. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 157
  8. ^ a b c d 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. 2, 12
  9. ^ 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. 308
  10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  11. ^ a b Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net)
  12. ^ Bara, Mariana (2024), Dictsiunarlu ti cathi dzuuã, online at dixionline.net
Cite this entry

“Canda.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/canda. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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