Alea
2015-04-18, 07:53 AM
For a writing project, I’ve been looking for a word that effectively means “little genie,” and I’d like to be as true to the word’s roots as I can. The word’s roots are fairly complex, actually, but I am familiar enough with Latin to handle the Latin (and to a somewhat lesser extent) French roots.1 The Arabic, though, I have little to no knowledge of.
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutive#Arabic) claims that “the usual diminutive pattern is Fu`ayL (CuCayC),” but this means absolutely nothing to me. The idea seems, based on the examples, to involve inserting -ay- before the final syllable, which might imply something like “djinayni,” but I feel not at all confident with this guess.
So, does anyone know the correct diminutive form of djinni? The correct plural (diminutive of djinn) would also be useful.
The word “genie” actually comes from the French “génie” which comes from the Latin “genius” – a kind of household spirit that was a big part of daily Roman spirituality and folklore, as I understand things. When translating Arabic texts that used the word “djinni” – a kind of nature spirit in pre-Islamic times, and then in Islam a third option to human or angel – French authors used the word “génie” which remarkably is fairly similar in both sound and meaning. In modern English, of course, the word’s Roman meaning has been all-but-forgotten, and it refers exclusively to the Arabic spirit.
In Latin, the diminutive form of “genius” would be “genulius,” while in French there are a few options, but none of them really work (French would just use “petit génie”).
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutive#Arabic) claims that “the usual diminutive pattern is Fu`ayL (CuCayC),” but this means absolutely nothing to me. The idea seems, based on the examples, to involve inserting -ay- before the final syllable, which might imply something like “djinayni,” but I feel not at all confident with this guess.
So, does anyone know the correct diminutive form of djinni? The correct plural (diminutive of djinn) would also be useful.
The word “genie” actually comes from the French “génie” which comes from the Latin “genius” – a kind of household spirit that was a big part of daily Roman spirituality and folklore, as I understand things. When translating Arabic texts that used the word “djinni” – a kind of nature spirit in pre-Islamic times, and then in Islam a third option to human or angel – French authors used the word “génie” which remarkably is fairly similar in both sound and meaning. In modern English, of course, the word’s Roman meaning has been all-but-forgotten, and it refers exclusively to the Arabic spirit.
In Latin, the diminutive form of “genius” would be “genulius,” while in French there are a few options, but none of them really work (French would just use “petit génie”).