înot

Forms

înot n (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from Romanian înota (“to swim”), as DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary state.^[2][3][1] Ciorănescu derives the adverb “swimming” from an old variant of the verb and lists the noun beside it among the verb's derivatives.^[4] Tiktin compares Italian nuoto and French nage, nouns made the same way on their verbs.^[5]

The verb continues Vulgar Latin *notō, which replaced Latin natō (“to swim”), with the prefix în-.^[4][3][1] A parallel noun, Albanian not (“swimming”), is explained by Wiktionary as a deverbal of the same Vulgar Latin verb.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from about 1710, in Nicolae Costin's chronicle: „o samă dintr-înșii dând în not au trecut peste Nistru” “some of them plunged in to swim and crossed the Dniester”.^[5] MDA2 dates its first record to Ion Neculce's chronicle, where the Tatars „dau unii în not în Nipru și se înnecau” “some plunged in to swim across the Dnieper and drowned”.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In the old chronicles the word is used in the phrase a da în not “to plunge in and swim”, and the adverbial use “swimming” is still the commonest: a trece înot “to swim across”.^[5][6] The adverbial phrase de-a înotul means the same.^[2] As a plain noun for the activity, as in Scriban's înotul e plăcut “swimming is pleasant”, it has a rare plural înoturi.^[7] A Muntenian glossary records a da înot for “to swim”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1710 – dând în not “plunging in to swim” in Nicolae Costin's chronicle, the first record.^[5]
• 18th century – dau în not in Ion Neculce's chronicle.^[3][5]
• 1939 – Scriban defines the noun as “the act of swimming”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. swimming: moving on or under the surface of water with rhythmic movements of the arms and legs.^[2][3] De-a înotul: by swimming.^[2]

Adverb

1. By swimming: Am trecut râul înot. “We swam across the river.”^[2][3] A (se) da înot: to swim across a stretch of water.^[3][6]

Related words

• înota
• înotător
• Latin natō

Usage notes

Older texts also spell it înnot.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. 552
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, 1243
4. ^ 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. înota
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. înot
6. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 650
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 696
8. ^ Marin, Maria; Mărgărit, Iulia, Glosar dialectal. Muntenia, București: Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti”, p. 217