quizais

Galician

Alternative forms

• cecais, quizá, quizabes

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese quiçay, quiça, quiçais. Ultimately probably from the Latin expression qui sapit (“who knows”). Compare Portuguese quiçá, Spanish quizá, Italian chissà, Catalan quissà and French qui sait.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kiˈθajs], (western) [kiˈsajs]

Adverb

quizais

1. perhaps, maybe

   Synonyms: se cadra, poida

   • 1370, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 328:

     quiçays fora mellor estar aló en paz

     maybe it would be better to be there in peace

   • 1671, Gabriel Feixoo de Araúxo, Contenda dos labradores de Caldelas:

     cosais co'esta tunda aqueibaran, enon seran ousados de vir por lan, è volber trasquilados

     perhaps with this beating they will settle down, and they will not dare to come for wool and return shorn [to come for more than they bargained for]

References

• Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “quiçais”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “quiç”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: ILG
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “quizais”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “quizais”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “quizais”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN