învârti

Forms

învârti (third-person singular present învârte or învârtește, past participle învârtit) 4th conjugation^[1] The simple verb vârti survives regionally with the same sense;^[2] MDA2 dates it to the Anonymus Caransebesiensis glossary of the later 17th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian în- + vârti, on a verb taken from Old Church Slavonic врътѣти (vrŭtěti, “to turn”).^[3][4][5][1] DEX gives the Old Church Slavonic verb only as a comparison.^[6] Wiktionary starts from Proto-Slavic *vьrtěti and compares Serbo-Croatian вр̀тети (vr̀teti) and Bulgarian въртя (vărtja); it thinks inheritance from Latin invertō or vertō (“to turn”) improbable.^[1][7] Șăineanu had derived the verb from the Latin.^[8] For the related noun vârtej (“whirlpool”) Ciorănescu also gives an Old Church Slavonic source and rejects a Latin one.^[9]

The Proto-Slavic verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wr̥t-, the root of the Latin verb as well.^[1] The verb also lives south of the Danube: Aromanian anvãrtescu and Megleno-Romanian ạnvărtes.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is a Calvinist catechism of 1673, with the sense “to turn round”.^[4] The Bucharest Bible of 1688 has several forms, among them învârtit in Exodus 25:25.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The DA sets învârti beside întoarce, suci and roti, verbs of circular motion that often stand for one another, and lists its senses: to turn and roll (a cigarette), to wind a spring or a watch, to dance in a ring, to court someone, to lead someone by the nose, to wield or manage, to scheme.^[3] In the reflexive, mi se învârte capul “my head is spinning” describes dizziness.^[8][6] Tiktin quotes it of wielding a sword in a ballad, of turning playing cards, and of young Greeks who could învârti political and amorous intrigues at once.^[4] From managing business came the colloquial sense of making money by dubious means, and in slang a se învârti is to get rich by seizing a chance.^[6][11]

Timeline

• c. 1650–1700 – the simple verb vârti in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis glossary.^[2]
• 1673 – învârti in a Calvinist catechism, the first record.^[4]
• 1688 – învârtit and other forms in the Bucharest Bible.^[10]
• 1929 – Șăineanu records the figurative “to manage”: a învârti un capital.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, reflexive, intransitive) To move or turn in a circle, to spin, to rotate: Roata se învârte tot mai repede.^[6][5][1]
2. (transitive) To twirl between or on the fingers; to turn something over to look at it from every side.^[6]
3. (transitive) To wield a tool or weapon skilfully;^[6] (intransitive) to stir something with a spoon.^[6]
4. (reflexive) To wander about aimlessly; to turn round and round in a small space, to fidget.^[6][12]
5. (figurative, colloquial) To be busy with dubious dealings; to profit by a favourable turn of events.^[6][11]

Word family

• învârtire
• învârtit

Related words

• învârteji
• vârtej
• întoarce
• roti
• vârti
• Aromanian anvãrtescu

Usage notes

Set phrases include a se învârti casa (sau pământul) cu cineva “to feel dizzy, or deeply ashamed”, a învârti hora “to dance the hora”, a se învârti pe lângă cineva “to try to win someone's favour” and a învârti pe cineva pe degete “to twist someone round one's finger”.^[6][5] The present is învârt or învârtesc.^[6][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1442
3. ^ a b 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. învârti
4. ^ 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. învârti
5. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1266
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 560
7. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 1, 212
8. ^ a b c Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 339
9. ^ 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. vîrtej
10. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Ieșirea 25:25
11. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. învârti
12. ^ Breban, Vasile (1980), Dicționar al limbii române contemporane de uz curent, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 303