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sãmtu

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Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word sãmtu

sãmtu1 holy, saint

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1770 Kavalliotis's Protopeiria
Inherited from
Latin sanctus
Ultimate origin
Latin sanciō
Etymology tree of sãmtu1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sanctus
Aromanian sãmtu
French saint
Italian santo
From the same root · sãmtu1
Italian si ← sanctus
Latin sancte ← sanctus
Latin sanctifico ← sanctus
Latin sanctitas ← sanctus
Latin sanctuarium ← sanctus

Forms

sãmtu (feminine singular sãmtã, masculine plural sãmtsã, feminine plural sãmti or sãmte)[1]

  • As noun and adjective: feminine sãmtã, masculine plural sãmtsã, feminine plural sãmti or sãmte; variants simtu, sãntu, sintu; before names of saints the short forms Stã-, Sãn-, Sãm-, Sãmt-, Sint-, Sã-, Sa-, Sum-, Su-.[2]
  • Other spellings: SÎ'MTU, plural sîmți, in Papahagi's dictionary;[3] SIMTU, with simtu in Mihăileanu and P. Papahagi, sîntu in Dalametra and sântu in Boiagi, and before saints' names sîm, sin, sum and the feminine stă, in Pascu;[4] σᾶμτου (samtu), feminine σᾶμτᾶ, plural σᾶμτσῖ, in Nikolaidis;[5] sâmtu, articled sâmtul, feminine sâmta, in Mihăileanu;[6] Σάμτου in Kavalliotis's word list, which Meyer reads sämtu.[7]

Etymology

The adjective "holy" is inherited from Latin sānctus (“sacred, holy”),[3][4][5][1] the participle of sanciō (“to make sacred”),[8] from Proto-Italic *sanktos.[1] Meyer explains the group mt from a form *samptus.[7]

In Romanian the same word survives only before saints' names, as in Sânpetru, while the adjective is sfânt, from Slavic.[4][9] Megleno-Romanian has somt "saint; icon".[10][11] Further west the Latin word gave Italian santo, French saint, Spanish santo and Portuguese santo.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Kavalliotis's word list of 1770, where Σάμτου translates the Greek word for "holy".[7]

Semantic evolution

The word means holy or sacred, and as a noun a saint, a person the church honours for a good life and miracles.[12][3][1] Papahagi quotes méslu sî'mtu al Maĭu "the holy month of May";[3] figuratively it is said of a very good person.[12] In P. Papahagi's tales the plural also means the holy icons,[13] as the Megleno-Romanian word does.[11]

Timeline

  • 1770 – Σάμτου “holy” in Kavalliotis's word list.[7]
  • 1813 – sântu in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[4]
  • 1901 – sâmtu “saint” in Mihăileanu's dictionary, as in sâmtu Ilia “Saint Elijah”.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Holy, sacred.[3][5][1]

Noun

  1. A saint.[12][6][1]
  2. (figurative) A very good person.[12]
  3. (plural) Holy icons.[13]

sãmtu2 to feel

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1813 Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu
Inherited from
Latin sentio
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *sent-
Etymology tree of sãmtu2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sentio
Aromanian sãmtu
French sentir
Italian sentire
From the same root · sãmtu2
Latin dissentio ← sentio
Latin praesentio ← sentio
Latin sensibilis ← sentio
Latin sensilis ← sentio
Latin sensim ← sentio
Latin sensitivus ← sentio
Latin sensus ← sentio
Latin sentimentum ← sentio
French ressentir ← sentir
French sentiment ← sentir
Italian sentimento ← sentire

Forms

sãmtu (participle simtsitã)[1]

  • Fourth conjugation: aorist sãmtsãi, imperfect sãmtsam, participle sãmtsãtã, infinitive sãmtsãri or sãmtsãre.[14] Wiktionary lists simtu, sintu and sintescu as alternative forms.[1]
  • Other spellings: SÍMTU and SÎ'MTU (with mi for the reflexive) in Papahagi's dictionary, which gives simtéscu from Dalametra;[15][3] the infinitives sîmțîre, simtire, sîntire, sintire and Boiagi's sentire, and the presents sîmțăscu, simtescu, simtu, sintu, sentu, in Pascu;[4] simtu, simții, simțită, simțire in Mihăileanu.[16]

Etymology

The verb "to feel" is inherited from Latin sentiō (“to perceive, feel”).[15][4][1]

The verb is shared with Romanian simți and Megleno-Romanian sint;[17] Pușcariu notes that Romanian has no trace of the Romance senses "to hear" and "to smell".[17] Further west the Latin verb gave Italian sentire, French sentir, Spanish sentir and Portuguese sentir.[17] De Vaan traces sentiō to Proto-Italic *sentije/o- and Proto-Indo-European *sént-i- (“to notice”),[18] from the root *sent- (“to feel”).[1]

Semantic evolution

The verb kept the Latin senses: to perceive with the senses, to feel an emotion for someone, and to become aware of something.[12][4][15] Papahagi quotes a text in which the dogs "did not sense us".[3]

Timeline

  • 1813 – the infinitive sentire in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[4]
  • 1901 – simtu “to feel” in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[16]
  • 1925 – Pascu derives it from Latin sentire.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel, perceive with the senses.[12][15][16][1]
  2. To feel (an emotion) for someone.[12][4]
  3. To notice, become aware of.[4][3]
  • Romanian simți

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 894
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 955
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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, 157
  5. ^ a b c Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα, p. 463
  6. ^ a b c Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 447
  7. ^ a b c d 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. 9
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Candrea, I.-A. (1927–1937), Glosar megleno-romîn I–IV, Grai și suflet III: 175–209; IV: 381–413; VI: 163–193; VII: 194–233, p. 201
  11. ^ a b Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 270
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ a b Papahagi, Pericle (1905), Basme aromâne și glosar, București: Academia Română, p. 697
  14. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 895
  15. ^ a b c d Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 948
  16. ^ a b c Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 466
  17. ^ a b c Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 144
  18. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill

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

“Sãmtu.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/s%C3%A3mtu. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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