înnebuni

Forms

înnebuni (third-person singular present înnebunește, past participle înnebunit) 4th conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian în- + nebun, “insane, mad”, as DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary give it.^[2][3][1] The DA is more exact: the verb was first nebuni, derived from the adjective, and took the prefix în- only later.^[4] Ciorănescu also lists the unprefixed verb as the main form, with the prefixed one as its variant, and DELR derives the verb from the adjective.^[5][6] The adjective is itself formed from Romanian ne- + bun, “not good”, and bun is from Latin bonus.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to Coresi's Praxiu of 1563.^[8] MDA2 and the DA cite Coresi's Carte de învățătură of 1581, where lust drove Solomon mad, so that he sacrificed to idols, with the form without prefix.^[3][4] DELR gives 1794 for the prefixed form.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The old texts use the verb both transitively, “to drive mad”, and as a reflexive a se nebuni “to go mad”: in the Mărgăritare wicked women bewitch their lovers and „pre unii i-au nebunit” “drove some of them mad”.^[4][8] The DA marks the reflexive as old in its time; the intransitive a înnebuni now has the sense “to go mad”.^[4]

From “to go mad” came weaker senses: to lose one's composure, and transitively to exasperate or pester someone.^[2][9] The colloquial Nu mă înnebuni! “don't drive me mad!” expresses surprise or disbelief at what one hears, and is found in Alecsandri and Caragiale.^[4][2] With după, the verb means to be crazy about someone or something, a use Tiktin quotes from Alecsandri, whose Hagi Hristodul „se nebunește după răcituri cu usturoi” “is mad about jellied meat with garlic”.^[8][3]

Timeline

• 1563 – first record, in Coresi's Praxiu.^[8]
• 1581 – nebuni “to drive mad” in Coresi's Carte de învățătură.^[3][4]
• 1688 – the reflexive se nebuniia in the Bucharest Bible.^[4]
• 1794 – the prefixed form înnebuni.^[6]
• 1883 – the adjective înnebunitor “maddening”.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To go mad, to lose one's reason;^[2][1] (by exaggeration) to lose one's calm and self-control: Ai înnebunit?^[2][1]
2. (transitive) To drive someone mad: Durerea de dinți aproape l-a înnebunit.^[2][3][1]
3. (transitive) To make someone lose patience; to exasperate, to pester.^[2][3]
4. (with după) To be crazy about someone or something.^[3][10]

Word family

• înnebunit
• înnebunitor

Usage notes

Nu mă înnebuni! (colloquially Nu mă-nnebuni!) is said to express surprise or disbelief at what one has just heard.^[2][3]

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 DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 551
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, 1242
4. ^ 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. înnebuni
5. ^ 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. bun
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. bun
7. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 116
8. ^ 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. înnebuní
9. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 648
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. înnebuni