încrunta

Forms

încrunta (third-person singular present încruntă, past participle încruntat, third-person subjunctive încrunte); first conjugation.^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian în- + crunta (“to stain with blood”), as DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary give it.^[2][3][1] The simple verb, recorded from 1581, continues Latin cruentō (“to stain with blood”), from cruentus (“bloody”).^[4][1] The DA also takes the verb from the Latin one but thinks the prefixed form newer, made in Romanian from phrases such as „a crunta în sânge” “to steep in blood”.^[5] DER notes, after Pușcariu and Candrea–Densusianu, that the senses “to knit the brows, to look sternly” may have another source and were drawn to this verb by folk etymology.^[6]

The cognate Aromanian ncruntu means “to bleed, to fill with blood”.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1581, in the Pravila of Lucaci, in the old sense “to make bloody”.^[4][8] MDA2 gives the Pravila of Govora (1640) as the first record.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the old language the verb meant to fill or stain with blood, and reflexively to be covered with blood: Varlam's homilies say „tot pământul să încruntă de sânge” “the whole earth was stained with blood”.^[8][5] Nicolae Costin's chronicle has a threat, „sabia mea în voi se va încrunta” “my sword will be bloodied in you”.^[8] Popular speech used it for a bleeding wound or tooth, and for a small cut made to let blood, as in the cross-shaped cut on a sheep's eyelid.^[3][5]

From eyes filling with blood in anger the verb passed to a fierce look: Alecsandri's ballad says of a pasha „ochii-n sânge se-ncrunta” “his eyes grew bloodshot”.^[8] The modern sense, to knit the brows in anger, worry or displeasure, is the only common one today; the bloody senses are obsolete.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1581 – the Pravila of Lucaci, the first record.^[4][8]
• 1640 – the Pravila of Govora.^[3]
• 1651 – încruntător “bloodthirsty” in the Alba Iulia psalter.^[4]
• 1886 – încruntătură “frown; bloodstain” and descrunta “to unknit the brows”.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive and transitive) To frown, to knit the brows in anger, worry or displeasure; to look sternly: Bătrânul s-a încruntat la noi.^[2][1]
2. (reflexive, obsolete) To fill with blood; to turn red.^[2][3]

Word family

• descrunta
• încruntat
• încruntare
• încruntătură

Related words

• crunt
• crunta
• Aromanian ncruntu

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 542
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1217
4. ^ 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. crunt
5. ^ a b c 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. încrunta
6. ^ a b 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. crunt
7. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 713
8. ^ 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. încrunta