puțin
Romanian
Etymology
Probably from a Vulgar Latin *putinus (attested in Medieval Latin pusinnu, pittinus (“small”)), a blend of Late Latin pitinnus (“very small”) and the root of Classical Latin putus (“young boy”), putillus (“very small”).[1] Compare Aromanian putsãn; further Albanian picërr, Old Logudorese pithinnu, Tarantino piččinnu.[1]
An alternative, perhaps less likely, theory derives it from a Vulgar Latin root *paucinus, from Latin paucus (“few, little”)[2].
Pronunciation
Adjective
puțin m or n (feminine singular puțină, masculine plural puțini, feminine and neuter plural puține)
(determiner)
Declension
Declension of puțin
Adverb
puțin
- a little, few, a small amount
- Amicii mei înțeleg numai puțin românește.
- My friends understand only a little Romanian.
- Amicii mei înțeleg numai puțin românește.
Antonyms
Derived terms
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Przemysław Dębowiak, “Contribution à l’étymologie des adjectifs romans signifiant ‘petit’,” in Essays in the History of Languages and Linguistics: Dedicated to Marek Stachowski on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday, eds. Michał Németh, Barbara Podolak, & Mateusz Urban (Krakow: Księgarnia Akademicka, 2017), 175–90.
- ^ http://www.dex.ro/pu%C8%9Bin
Categories:
- Romanian terms inherited from Vulgar Latin
- Romanian terms derived from Vulgar Latin
- Romanian terms inherited from Late Latin
- Romanian terms derived from Late Latin
- Romanian terms inherited from Latin
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian adjectives
- Romanian adverbs