nai
nai1 the most
Forms
nai[1]
- năi in Dalametra's Romanian-based spelling, in the phrase năi ma mărli (the biggest).[2]
- NAĬ in Papahagi's dictionary, used before ma or cáma (more), as in naĭ cáma mușeátlu lúcru (the most beautiful thing).[3]
Etymology
The adverb is borrowed from Bulgarian най (naj, “most, forming superlatives”).[3] Papahagi notes that it belongs to the northern Aromanian varieties and that it is synonymous with cama and dip, so that a superlative can be formed with any of the three.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Dalametra's dictionary of 1906 records it as năi, a particle that forms the superlative together with ma.[2]
Timeline
- 1906 – năi, used with ma for the superlative, in Dalametra's dictionary.[2]
- 1963 – Papahagi derives NAĬ from Bulgarian naj.[3]
Meanings
Adverb
nai2 region
Forms
nai f (plural nãi)[1]
- Also nae, plural nãi.[4][1]
- NÁĬE, plural năĭ, in Papahagi's dictionary;[3] năhíe, plural năhiurĭ, in Polenaković's study of the Turkish words.[5]
Etymology
The word for a region is borrowed from Turkish nahiye (“district, administrative subdivision”).[3][5] Papahagi compares Albanian nahie (“province”), and Polenaković lists the same loan in Serbo-Croatian nahija.[3][5]
In Turkish the word is recorded from 1429.[6] Nişanyan traces it to Arabic ناحيّة (nāḥiyya, “side, area”), the feminine active participle of نَحا (naḥā, “to turn toward, head in a direction”).[6]
Semantic evolution
Papahagi's examples use it for the region of Kassandra, where flocks spent the winter, and for the district of Ploiești in Romania.[3] Cunia gives both the wide sense, the land around a town or a mountain, and the administrative one, a part of a state governed by an official.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- A region, the land around a town or a mountain.[4][3][1]
- An administrative subdivision of a state, a province or county.[4][1]
nai3 ship
Forms
nai f (plural nãi)[1]
- Also nae, plural nãi.[4][1]
- NAÍE in Papahagi's dictionary, who marks the sense with a query;[3] nae, plural năi, in DIARO, which marks it as old.[7]
Etymology
The word for a ship is inherited from Latin nāvis (“ship”).[1][8] Papahagi gives no etymology for it.[3] REW records the Latin word in Eastern Romance only in Romanian naie, which Wiktionary marks as archaic;[9][1] further west it gave Italian nave, French nef, Catalan nau and Spanish nave.[9]
De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *nāw- and Proto-Indo-European *neh₂-u- (“ship”).[10]
Semantic evolution
Papahagi quotes it from a written text, in a passage where a man goes on board a ship.[3] DIARO gives the example tricu apa cu naea (he crossed the water by ship).[8]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
- Romanian naie
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 143
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 726
- ^ a b c d e f g Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 694
- ^ a b c Поленаковиќ, Харалампие (2007), Турски елементи во ароманскиот јазик, Скопје, p. 158
- ^ a b Nişanyan, Sevan, Nişanyan Sözlük: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojisi (online edition)
- ^ Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 409
- ^ a b Caragiu Marioțeanu, Matilda et al. (1997), Dicționar aromân (macedo-vlah) DIARO, A–D, București, p. 296
- ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill