Learn Romanian › zână
zână
fairy /ˈzɨ.nə/
noun#3586 most common
Also: nymph, sprite, enchantress (in folk tales)
Example sentences
O zână trăiește în pădure.
A fairy lives in the forest.
Fetița visează la o zână bună.
The little girl dreams of a good fairy.
Zâna din poveste are puteri magice.
The fairy in the story has magical powers.
Copiii cred că zânele locuiesc în flori de câmp.
Children believe that fairies live in wildflowers.
Bunica spunea că zâna cea bună ne apără de rele.
Grandma used to say that the good fairy protects us from harm.
În basmele românești, zânele întruchipează deopotrivă binele și forțele întunecate ale naturii.
In Romanian fairy tales, fairies embody both good and the dark forces of nature.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | zână / zâna | zâne / zânele |
| Genitive | zâne / zânei | zâne / zânelor |
| Accusative | zână / zâna | zâne / zânele |
| Vocative | zână / zâno | zânelor |
Word family
zânăfairy
zănaticwhimsical, crazy, scatterbrained
zănaticăwhimsical, crazy (feminine form)
zânuțălittle fairy (diminutive, used in children's stories)
Etymology
Romanian "zână" comes from Latin "Diana", the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and wild nature. The initial "Di-" sound shifted to "z-" as the word passed down through spoken Latin in the region, a change seen in other Romanian words with a similar Latin starting cluster. The result is a word that kept a pagan goddess alive inside Romanian folk belief, now meaning simply "fairy".
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