combinaie

Combinaie is a term that appears in some Romanian-language texts, usually as a nonstandard spelling or typographical variant of the standard noun combinație, which means "combination" or "mixture." The normative forms are combinație in the singular and combinații in the plural. The word derives from Latin combinare, via the historical influence of Romance languages, and the Romanian suffix -ie is used to form abstract nouns.

In standard Romanian, combinație is used across domains. It can denote a general combination or mixture, as in o combinație de ingrediente (a combination of ingredients) or o combinație de factori (a combination of factors). In mathematics and combinatorics, the term refers to selection or arrangement of items, for example o combinație de n obiecte luate câte k (a combination of n objects taken k at a time).

Combinaie may be encountered in non-diacritic texts, older writings, or as a regional/colloquial variant and is generally considered a misspelling of combinație. It is not recognized as the standard form in contemporary Romanian orthography.

If encountered in a text, the intended meaning is usually clear from context: it points to a notion of bringing elements together or selecting elements from a set. For precision, it is advisable to use combinație (plural: combinații) in formal writing.

See also: combinație, combinare. Etymology: from Latin combinare; related forms appear in other Romance languages as combinaison (French), combinazione (Italian).