încălcare

Forms

încălcare f (plural încălcări)^[1]

Etymology

It is the long infinitive of the verb “to invade; to infringe”, formed from Romanian încălca + -re.^[2][3][4][1] The verb is în- + călca (“to tread”), from calcō.^[3][1] Tiktin explains it as a formation on the simple verb modelled on Latin invādō and French envahir.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is Barcianu's dictionary of 1868, glossed with German “Einfall, Einbruch”, an invasion.^[4][6] MDA2 dates it later, from Nicolae Iorga's history of 1905.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is the invasion of a foreign country: Tiktin quotes Xenopol, writing of the annexation of Bukovina: „o încălcare atât de simțitoare”, “so grievous an encroachment”.^[4] From the territory the word passed to rights and rules: the breach of a law and, figuratively, the disregard of a right, an obligation or an oath.^[3][7] MDA2 also has an obsolete sense “obligation”, after an old sense of the verb.^[3]

Timeline

• 1816 – the verb încălca, the first record of the family.^[3]
• 1868 – încălcare “invasion” in Barcianu, the first record.^[4]
• 1905 – in Iorga's history, MDA2's first record.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The forcible occupation of a foreign territory; invasion.^[3][7]
2. The infringement of a law or rule: încălcarea legii “breaking the law”.^[3][2]
3. (figurative) The disregard of someone's rights, or of an obligation or an oath; violation.^[3][7]

Related words

• încălca
• călca

Usage notes

Scriban gives a sense from versification: the running over of a word into the next line, French enjambement.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 i j 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 Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. încălcare
5. ^ 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. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 302
7. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 590
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 679