însenina

Forms

însenina (third-person singular present înseninează, past participle înseninat) 1st conjugation^[1] Regional forms are însărina, înserina and însănina.^[2][3] Budai-Deleanu writes „Mintea i să însărinează iară” “his mind clears again”.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *inserēnō (“to clear up”), formed on serēnō (“to clear up, brighten”), as DEX, MDA2, the DA and Tiktin give it.^[4][2][5][3] The Latin verb is formed on serēnus (“clear, fair”).^[6]

Ciorănescu instead lists the verb among the derivatives of the adjective senin, and Wiktionary gives both explanations.^[7][1] The adjective is from the same Latin adjective, and its Transylvanian variants keep the /r/, and Ciorănescu calls the assimilation ⟨-rin⟩ > ⟨-nin⟩ recent.^[7] The regional forms of the verb keep the same /r/.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1703, a text in Gaster's chrestomathy.^[3] MDA2 cites Șincai's Hronic instead, where the sky clears and the river falls so that the Bulgarians can make captives build a bridge.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is of the sky and the weather, which clear as the clouds part.^[4][5] The DA notes that it is used in contrast with înnora and întuneca, often with no subject expressed: Ieri a plouat, azi a-nseninat.^[5] The figurative sense, of a face, look or mind that becomes calm and cheerful, is in Negruzzi, Bălcescu and Eminescu.^[5][8] The transitive use, “to brighten, cheer”, is rarer: Eminescu's „Căci tu înseninezi mereu Viața sufletului meu” “for you always brighten the life of my soul”.^[3][8] In some regions it also means “to turn up unexpectedly”.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1703 – first record, in a text in Gaster's chrestomathy.^[3]
• early 19th century – înseninându-se “clearing up” in Șincai's Hronic (printed 1853).^[2][5]
• 1869 – Barițiu's Hungarian–Romanian dictionary gives însenina for Hungarian derít.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive, of the sky or weather) To clear up, become cloudless: După furtună cerul s-a înseninat.^[4][2][1]
2. (figurative, reflexive and transitive) Of people or their mood, to become or make serene, calm and cheerful, to brighten up.^[4][2][1]
3. (regional) To turn up unexpectedly.^[2]

Related words

• senin
• seninătate

Usage notes

The present is usually înseninez;^[4][2] însenin is older.^[4][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1246
3. ^ 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. însenina
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 553
5. ^ 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. însenina
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ 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. senin
8. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 655
9. ^ Barițiu, George (1869), Dictionariu unguresc-romanescu, Brașov, p. 102