încălca

Forms

încălca (first-person singular present încalc, third-person singular present încalcă, past participle încălcat), first conjugation^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian în- + călca (“to tread”).^[2][3][1][4] In its modern senses “to invade” and “to infringe” it was modelled, according to Tiktin and the DA, on Latin invādō and French envahir.^[5][4]

Călca continues Latin calcō (“to tread”), from calx (“heel”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the verb to 1679.^[6] The DA quotes a document of 1816 in which it means “to oblige”: a încălcat pe Brătianul a-i face pomenirile “he obliged Brătianu to hold his memorial services”.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The old sense “to compel” has died out.^[3][4] In the 19th century the verb came to mean entering a country by force, crossing its borders.^[4][5] From this came the sense of disregarding someone's rights, a law or an oath.^[4][5] Tiktin quotes Sbiera's tales of 1856 and Ispirescu: enemies who “invaded the country” from time to time.^[5]

The derivatives încălcător “invader, transgressor” (1839) and încălcare “infringement” followed.^[6][4]

Timeline

• 1679 – the first record.^[6]
• 1816 – “to oblige” in a document.^[3][4]
• 1839 – încălcător “transgressor, invader”.^[6]
• 1856 – in Sbiera's tales.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To invade, to occupy a foreign territory by force.^[2][3]
2. (figurative) To infringe, to break a law, to disregard a right or an obligation.^[2][3][1]
3. (obsolete) To compel, to oblige.^[3][4]

Related words

• călca

Usage notes

In the sense “to break the law” the verb is common with legea, drepturile or un jurământ as its object: A încălcat legea fără să știe.^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 537
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1202
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. încălca
5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. încălca
6. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. călca