Etymologically
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vai

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Forms

  • vai, interjection.[1][2]
  • Other spellings: VAÍ in Papahagi's dictionary;[2] vâi in Dalametra's Romanian-based spelling;[3] vai! in Weigand's glossary.[4]

Etymology

According to Pascu it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *vai, a form of Latin vae (“alas, woe”).[5] REW sets up the same Latin form for Romanian vai and Italian guai.[6] Papahagi gives no etymon and only compares Albanian vaj (“alas”) and Greek βάι (vái, “alas”).[2] Ciorănescu treats the Romanian word as an expressive creation: he compares the Latin interjection but holds that a direct derivation from it is not possible, and sets beside it similar cries in Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Italian.[7]

For the Latin interjection, de Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *wai and compares Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai) and Old English wā.[8] The Albanian interjection is reconstructed by Demiraj as Proto-Albanian *uai.[9] Kriaras derives the Medieval Greek interjection from Turkish vay.[10]

The word is shared by Romanian and Megleno-Romanian vai.[7][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pascu lists Boiagi's grammar of 1813 among his sources for the word, glossed "alas!".[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a cry of pain, pity or despair.[1] Papahagi records it in vai di míni ("woe is me") and in ca vai di ("like woe on…", said of someone in a wretched state).[2] Pericle Papahagi's glossary has ca vai di nîsă ("woe on her", that is, in misery).[12]

Timeline

  • 1813 – recorded in Boiagi's grammar, one of the sources Pascu names for the word.[5]
  • 1894 – vai! “woe!” in Weigand's glossary.[4]
  • 1906 – vâi “alas”, with vâi di mini, in Dalametra's dictionary.[3]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Alas!, woe! (expressing pain, pity or despair)[1][2]
  • Romanian vai
  • Albanian vaj

References

  1. ^ a b c Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 1072
  2. ^ a b c d e Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1099
  3. ^ a b Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 216
  4. ^ a b Weigand, Gustav (1894), Die Aromunen: ethnographisch-philologisch-historische Untersuchungen, vol. II: Volksliteratur der Aromunen (with a glossary), Leipzig: J. A. Barth, p. 337
  5. ^ a b c 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, 182
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001)
  8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  9. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (1997), Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz, Amsterdam / Atlanta: Rodopi (Leiden Studies in Indo-European 7)
  10. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
  11. ^ 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. 220
  12. ^ Papahagi, Pericle (1905), Basme aromâne și glosar, București: Academia Română, p. 729