# Eyvallah shades of meaning?



## lisaleira

Hello all,

I speak Arabic and I’m learning Turkish, and I’m trying to understand the shades of meaning in Eyvallah. I guess in Arabic it would be ايه والله، like yes by god? I’m curious about the etymology, like where the phrase comes from or what it kind of means. I’ve read it means things like thanks or farewell or a whole range of meetings. Would anyone like to share their understanding of what this word means or can mean and why it means that? It took a long time in Arabic to get a sense of what idioms mean, so I appreciate how it might take quite a while now in Turkish, Even with simple but deeply cultural phrases.. This idiom (I suppose it’s an idiom?) is some thing I feel that I don’t get and would love to see your perspective!


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## LeBro

I don't know its etymology but it is most probably of Arabic. There are those who can help you more with its etymology and adventure in Turkish. All I can tell you as a native speaker of Turkish is I would use this phrase in such situations:

In the sense of "thanks". But I would never use it in a formal setting and not with everyone. 

In the sense of "so be it!", which indicates resentment.

These two are the only ones I can think of for myself. And yes, sometimes can be used when taking your leave, in which case I would say "hadi eyvallah", but of course used only in informal settings.


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## Rallino

It's from "eyi" (good) and "vallahi". So it's half Turkish half Arabic.

[ Yunus Emre, Bütün Şiirleri, 1320 yılından önce]
Köken
*Türkiye Türkçesi* _eyi vallahi_ sözcüğünden evrilmiştir.


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## Akinci

Eyvallah Kelime Kökeni, Kelimesinin Anlamı - Etimoloji


> Eyvallah​~ Ar iy wallāhi إى والله yeminle evet, evet § Ar iy إى evet + Ar wallāhi والله  → vallahi
> 
> Tarihte En Eski Kaynak​[ Yunus Emre, Bütün Şiirleri (1400 yılından önce) ]
> 
> *Önemli Not:* Bu kaynak kayıtlara geçmiş ve bu kelimenin kullanıldığı yazılı ilk kaynaktır. Kullanımı daha öncesinde sözlü olarak veya günlük hayatta yaygın olabilir.


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## lisaleira

Ah thank you! I thought it was like "ey" in Arabic, but iyi makes more sense. Thanks



Rallino said:


> It's from "eyi" (good) and "vallahi". So it's half Turkish half Arabic.
> 
> [ Yunus Emre, Bütün Şiirleri, 1320 yılından önce]
> Köken
> *Türkiye Türkçesi* _eyi vallahi_ sözcüğünden evrilmiştir.


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## lisaleira

Thanks, this is an amazing website!



Akinci said:


> https://www.etimolojiturkce.com/kelime/eyvallah


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## lisaleira

Actually, from the etimolojiturkce.com website, doesn't that seem to indicate that it derives from the arabic "Ey", "yes" and "wallah", "by god" - rather than from the Turkish "iyi", "good" and the Arabic "wallah", "by god"? 

Or am I reading this incorrectly..



lisaleira said:


> Ah thank you! I thought it was like "ey" in Arabic, but iyi makes more sense. Thanks


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## Akinci

An Ottoman Turkish dictionary defines the word in that way

ايوالله - Eyvallah osmanlica ne demek, ايوالله anlami, ايوالله kamus turki






Ey + vallah

Ey = harf-i tasdik (Word of confirmation. for example OK, YES)
Vallah = I swear to God or Allah.


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