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încinge

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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word încinge

încinge1 catch fire, heat up

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1551–1558 Psaltirea Voroneț, as încinde
Inherited from
Latin incendo
Ultimate origin
Latin incendō
Etymology tree of încinge1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin incendō
Romanian încinge
From the same root · încinge1
Latin incendium ← incendō
Latin incēnsum ← incendō

Forms

încinge (third-person singular present încinge, past participle încins, third-person subjunctive încingă) 3rd conjugation[1]

Etymology

The word for “catch fire, heat up” is inherited from Latin incendō (“to set on fire, kindle”).[2][3][1] Ciorănescu follows Pușcariu, Candrea and Densusianu, the REW and the DA, and compares Italian incendere, Occitan encendre, Spanish encender and Portuguese encender.[2][4] The verb is formed from Latin in- + candeō (“to shine, glow”).[5][1]

The regular outcome was încinde, still used in Gorj and Vâlcea;[6][2] Candrea and Densusianu explain the form with ⟨-ge⟩ as remade after stinge, învinge and other verbs whose participle also ended in ⟨-ins⟩, like încins.[6][2] In sound it thus fell together with încinge2 “to gird”, which comes from cingō.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The older form încinde is in the Psaltirea Voroneț of about 1551–1558 and in Coresi's psalter of 1570.[7] Tiktin's first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană (16th century), with the sense “to set on fire”;[8][9] MDA2 dates the word to Coresi's psalter of 1577.[8][9] A psalter of 1651 has „Cine va sta înaintea ta, când să încinde mâniia ta?” “who will stand before you when your anger is kindled?”[8]

Semantic evolution

From “to set on fire, kindle” the verb came to mean “to heat strongly, make red-hot”, and, reflexive, “to catch fire, blaze up”.[3][8] Figuratively a passion or a feeling “inflames” or “consumes” someone, and a fight, a quarrel or a dance “flares up” or grows more intense.[3][8][9] Of hay, grain and flour it means “to heat up and spoil by fermenting”, a sense Ciorănescu lists too.[2][3] MDA2 also records “to run a fever” and “to spread” of a disease.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1551–1558 – the form încinde in the Psaltirea Voroneț.[7]
  • 16th century – încinge “to set on fire” in the Psaltirea Scheiană.[8]
  • 1577 – Coresi's psalter, MDA2's first record.[9]
  • 1651 – să încinde mâniia ta “your anger is kindled” in a psalter.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (reflexive, of a fire) To blaze up, to burn with a large flame;[3][9] (transitive) to make a fire burn well.[3][9]
  2. To heat strongly, to make or become very hot: Soba s-a încins de tot.[3][10]
  3. (figurative, of a feeling or passion) To seize or consume someone;[3][9] (reflexive) to flare up, to grow inflamed.[3][9]
  4. (figurative, of a fight, quarrel or discussion) To intensify, to grow fiercer.[3][8]
  5. (reflexive, of hay, grain, flour) To begin to spoil by fermenting.[3][2]

Word family

  • încins

încinge2 gird, surround

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1500–1520 Psaltirea Hurmuzaki
Inherited from
Latin incingo
Ultimate origin
Latin cingō
Etymology tree of încinge2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin cingō
Romanian cinge
Latin incingō
Romanian încinge
From the same root · încinge2
Latin accingō ← cingō
Latin cingulum ← cingō
Latin discingō ← cingō
Latin praecingō ← cingō
Latin procinctus ← cingō
Latin recingo ← cingō
Latin succingō ← cingō

Forms

încinge (third-person singular present încinge, past participle încins, third-person subjunctive încingă) 3rd conjugation[1]

Etymology

The word for “to gird, surround” is inherited from Latin incingō (“to gird, encircle”), formed from Latin in- + cingō (“to surround, gird”).[3][1] The DA and Tiktin give the Latin base as cingō, and the REW lists the Romanian verb under that word;[11][12][13][14] Graur derives it from the prefixed Latin verb.[11][12][13][14] Candrea and Densusianu compare French enceindre.[6] Wiktionary takes ntsingu from Aromanian n- and tsingu, or possibly from the same Latin verb.[1]

The simple verb survives as dialectal and old cinge, and descinge “to ungird” goes back to Latin discingō.[14][6] The verb fell together in sound with încinge1 “to catch fire”, from incendō.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of about 1500–1520: the index of the 16th-century psalters finds încinge, încins and încinseși “you girded” there.[15][16] The Codicele Voronețean has „Încingeți-vă malele cugetelor voastre” “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13).[11][12] MDA2 dates it to Coresi's psalter of 1577.[9]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is “to put a belt or girdle round the waist”, and, reflexive, “to put on one's belt”.[11][3] With a weapon as the object it means “to buckle on a sword”, and by extension “to arm oneself”.[11][9] In old texts it also meant “to invest with a dignity or power”, as one girds on an office.[9][11] Figuratively it means “to surround on all sides”, and in familiar use “to give someone a beating”.[3][9][17]

Timeline

  • c. 1500–1520 – încinge, încins and încinseși in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.[15][16]
  • 16th century – încingeți-vă “gird yourselves” in the Codicele Voronețean.[12][11]
  • 1577 – Coresi's psalter, MDA2's first record.[9]
  • 1649 – încing and încins in Mardarie's Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.[18]
  • 1688 – the Bucharest Bible uses the verb often, as in încinge (Exodus 29:8).[19]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To gird, to put a belt or sash round the waist;[3][10] (reflexive) to put on one's belt: Și-a încins mijlocul cu o curea.[3][10]
  2. To buckle on a weapon at the waist: a-și încinge sabia.[3][9]
  3. (figurative) To surround on all sides, to encircle.[3][20]
  4. (familiar) To beat someone.[9][17]

Word family

  • încingătoare
  • încingere

Usage notes

The participle încins serves both verbs: o sobă încinsă is a red-hot stove, un om încins cu brâu a man wearing a sash.[3] DER notes an old noun încins “exaltation, passion”, formed from the first verb.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. încinge
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 540
  4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4346
  5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. încinge
  7. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 77:43
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. încínge 2
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1211
  10. ^ 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, 602
  11. ^ a b c d e f g 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. încinge 1
  12. ^ 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. încínge 1
  13. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. cingere
  14. ^ a b c Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 31
  15. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 108:18
  16. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 29:14
  17. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. încinge
  18. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. încing
  19. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Exodus 29:8
  20. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. încinge

Related etymologies

  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
  • sta · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Încinge.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/%C3%AEncinge. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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