străin
Romanian
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Latin extrāneus, through a Vulgar Latin intermediate form; the expected normal phonetic result in Romanian from the base Latin word would be *strâi, so it must have come from a derivative form. It is likely that Latin extraneus produced several popular altered variant or derived forms (cf. Italian/Tuscan straino, Calabrian strainu ("without a master")). Several conjectures exist but none have arrived at a definitive and universally accepted etymology: one possibility is through a metathesized form *extrainu (cf. Romanian roib < rubeus, aibă < habeat); other proposals include Latin exterraneus, or *exterrinus, or *extralienus. The now obsolete 16th century derivative astrina, astriirat indicates it is almost surely an inherited term[1].
Pronunciation
Adjective
străin m or n (feminine singular străină, masculine plural străini, feminine and neuter plural străine)
Declension
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
| nominative/ accusative |
indefinite | străin | străină | străini | străine | ||
| definite | străinul | străina | străinii | străinele | |||
| genitive/ dative |
indefinite | străin | străine | străini | străine | ||
| definite | străinului | străinei | străinilor | străinelor | |||
Noun
străin m (plural străini)
Declension
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
| nominative/accusative | (un) străin | străinul | (niște) străini | străinii |
| genitive/dative | (unui) străin | străinului | (unor) străini | străinilor |
| vocative | străinule | străinilor | ||