THE ARCHAIC TERM "CĂSAȘ" BETWEEN THE STATUS OF LEGAL TERM AND COMMON TERM (LEXICAL, ETYMOLOGICAL AND GEOLINGUISTIC STUDY)

Abstract

This paper investigates the archaic Romanian term căsaș, chiefly attested in Transylvanian dialects, from an integrated linguistic perspective: etymological, semantic, and dialectological. The study argues for an internal Romanian origin of the word, derived from casă (“house”) with the agentive suffix -aș, and traces its diachronic evolution and geographical distribution. By combining data from historical dictionaries, dialect atlases (ALR, ALRR), and documentary sources, the paper demonstrates that căsaș originally referred to a “householder” or “property owner,” later acquiring social and moral connotations (“settled, respectable man”). The term thus serves as a linguistic marker of communal belonging and traditional rural values.