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catã

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Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word catã

catã1 side of a knucklebone

Confidence
Unknown

Forms

catã f, invariable[1]

  • CÁTĂ, invariable, in Papahagi's dictionary.[2]

Etymology

The knucklebone term is of unknown origin: Papahagi ends his article with a question mark instead of an etymon.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. In the game of knucklebones, the flat side of the knucklebone, opposite its rounded back.[1][2]

catã2 tortoise

Confidence
Uncertain
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1770 Kavalliotis's Protopeiria
Borrowed from
Albanian

Forms

catã f (plural cati or cate)[3]

  • Cunia gives the plural cãti/cãte and the variants cathã, cãtã and cãthã.[1][4]
  • Other spellings: Κάθα in the Greek script of Kavalliotis's word list;[5] catha, plural căthe, in Mihăileanu's dictionary;[6] căthâ in DIARO;[7] CĂ’ΘĂ, plural că’θe, which Papahagi marks as northern.[8]

Etymology

The tortoise word is of uncertain origin:[7][8] DIARO considers it a loan from Albanian,[7] while Papahagi only compares Albanian këthmill and kërmill (“snail”).[8] In his edition of Kavalliotis's word list, Meyer refers the Aromanian word to an entry of his Albanian etymological dictionary.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Kavalliotis's word list of 1770, where Κάθα translates Modern Greek χελώνη (chelóni, “tortoise”).[5]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the one sense since its first record.[5][1] Mihăileanu distinguishes land and river tortoises: suntă căthe şi di uscátu și di arduri "there are tortoises of dry land and of rivers".[6] Cunia describes several kinds, living in water or on land, and gives broascã as a synonym.[1]

Timeline

  • 1770 – Κάθα “tortoise” in Kavalliotis's word list.[5]
  • 1901 – catha in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[6]
  • 1997 – căthâ in DIARO, marked as regional.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A tortoise or turtle.[1][3][6]

References

  1. ^ 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. 239
  2. ^ a b c Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 251
  3. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 273
  5. ^ a b c d e 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. 123
  6. ^ a b c d Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 100
  7. ^ a b c d Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 149
  8. ^ a b c Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 283

Related etymologies

  • banã · also from Albanian
Cite this entry

“Catã.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/cat%C3%A3. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·