# pa, pa



## Nanon

Dear All,
"Pa" or "pa, pa" in Romanian is "bye", but what is the origin of "pa" please?
Sorry for such an "elementary" question - I don't speak Romanian.
I like this "pa" even if it's informal, and I like it even more as "*pup *(kisses) *pa, pa*" because it sounds "kissy"!


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## ezi

Ha, that´s interesting. We also say "pa pa" in Czech for the same thing, "bye", but I have no idea of the origin!!


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## david_carmen

Conform DEX (Dicţionar explicativ român), limba română l-a preluat din germană *Pa* şi/sau ungureşte *pá*.
_________

According to DEX (Romanian Explanatory Dictionary), the Romanian language took it over from German *Pa* and Hungarian *pá*.


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## Nanon

I see. I read somewhere that it was children's talk but I was not quite convinced. That would also explain why it's used in Czech too.
Thanks -- Multumesc (*)

 (*) each time I go to Romania I feel sooooooooo stupid being able to understand so much from Romance languages + Russian, and having to answer in English -- I should consider learning Romanian at some stage...


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## david_carmen

It is also used by mature people, in the familiar, informal language.
You could say "pa, pa" to your friend, for example.
But if it's a formal situation/relation, you say "la revedere".

Cu plăcere.


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## Ballod

Salut Nanon! Acabo de leer tu consulta sobre *"pa,pa"* como "*adiós*" en rumano, y su sonido  "kissy". Se me ocurre  comentarte que  en castellano  (por lo menos  en Argentina),  se  usa_* "pa"*_  como diminutivo afectuoso de _*papá*_, en el ámbito familiar, y en forma coloquial.  También aquí habría un origen en el lenguaje infantil ("children's talk" en tu expresión): en los primeros intentos de lenguaje hablado, los bebés suelen comenzar emitiendo los sonidos "pa" y "ma" antes de poder completar "papá" y "mamá", generalmente, sus palabras inaugurales. Imagino que en francés se dará de modo parecido. Si esta disquisición te sirve para realizar alguna conexión, me alegraré de saberlo. À bientot!


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## Trisia

Ummm, well I don't speak your language... so I might mess up badly 

In Romanian we say "tata" for dad. True, at a certain point the highter classes used *papa*, as they spoke French, but although I sometimes call my mum "ma", I never met anyone that used pa or papa to mean dad 

Oh, in Romanian we do say papa to mean "food", when we talk to children . Or, as a verb, meaning to "eat".

Hai, papă (_vb_), e papa (_noun_) bun (baby-talk for _Go on, eat, it's good food_)


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## OldAvatar

Nanon said:


> Dear All,
> "Pa" or "pa, pa" in Romanian is "bye", but what is the origin of "pa" please?
> Sorry for such an "elementary" question - I don't speak Romanian.
> I like this "pa" even if it's informal, and I like it even more as "*pup *(kisses) *pa, pa*" because it sounds "kissy"!



You may find the origins of *Pa *in Latin *Pax (Peace)*, (also another old form of greetings – *Pace ţie/vouă*, _Peace to you_). This *Pa *form was acquired by German tribes from the Romans and then by other populations.

Best regards


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## domangelo

It's interesting to see the word "papa" as food in Romanian. In English, baby food is "pap" and by extension, anything that is simplistic and without flavor.  The online etymology dictionary traces it back to Old French, "papa" (food) and back further to Latin "pappa".


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## Ballod

In Spanish, "papa" means "potato", also we say "papa" to mean "food", when we talk to children. And also are used diminutives (papita) in both senses.


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## Trisia

Dear all,

This was such a fun thread... many years ago, when the rules were a little more lax, sort of. Afraid it's a bit of a mess now, with lots of off-topicness. 

If anyone has further info on the *original question*, please message me and I'll gladly reopen the thread.


Thank you!
Trisia (moderator)


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