zău
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Latin deus (“god”), or simply a variant of Romanian zeu ("god"), a simple doublet which kept the original meaning. The semantic evolution may be due to the act of "swearing to God" to affirm something is really true.
Pronunciation edit
Interjection edit
zău
- really, truly
- please, I beg you
- (in the context of the expression "zău așa") expresses that one affirms or swears something