quizais

Galician

Alternative forms

• cecais, quizá, quizabes

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese quiçay, quiça, quiçais. Ultimately probably from the Latin expression qui sapit (“who knows”). Compare Portuguese quiçá, Spanish quizá, Italian chissà, Catalan quissà and French qui sait.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kiˈθajs], (western) [kiˈsajs]

Adverb

quizais

1. perhaps, maybe

   Synonyms: se cadra, poida

   • 1370, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 328:

     quiçays fora mellor estar aló en paz

     maybe it would be better to be there in peace

   • 1671, Gabriel Feixoo de Araúxo, Contenda dos labradores de Caldelas:

     cosais co'esta tunda aqueibaran, enon seran ousados de vir por lan, è volber trasquilados

     perhaps with this beating they will settle down, and they will not dare to come for wool and return shorn [to come for more than they bargained for]

References

• “quiçais” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
• “quiç” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006–2018.
• “quizais” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
• “quizais” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
• “quizais” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.