învoalbe

Forms

învoalbe (third-person singular present învoalbă, past participle învolt, third-person subjunctive învoalbe) 3rd conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin involvō (“to roll up, wrap”), itself from in- and volvō (“to roll”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} Tiktin notes a change of conjugation in the variant învolba; other variants are volba and învolbi.^[3][2]

The verb survives south of the Danube: Aromanian mvolbu and Megleno-Romanian volbu.^[2][6] Its Romance cognates include Italian involgere, Occitan envolver, Spanish envolver and Portuguese envolver.^[6][7] REW also counts înholba “to goggle” as a form of it with a change of conjugation.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Psaltirea Scheiană, at Psalm 101:27, where God will roll up the heavens like a garment: „ca veșmântu învoalbi-le și schimbă-se” “like a garment you will fold them and they will be changed”.^[4][5][3] Coresi's Psalter has „și ca veșmânt învolbi-le” in the same verse.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From “to wrap, roll up” the old language moved to the whirling of water, waves, clouds and dust, and of beings that spin round on the spot.^[5][4] The Bible of 1688 has the old sense at Ezekiel 4:12, „în balegă de scârnă omenească le vei învoalbe” “you shall wrap them in human dung”.^[3][8] In a Transylvanian folk song the sea threatens „m-oi turbura și m-oi învolba” “I will grow troubled and swirl”.^[3][5]

Weaving gave technical senses: to twist the distaff, to wind the cloth on the beam, to prepare the threads for drawing in.^[5][4] Regionally it is said of plants that open out and grow, of eyes opened wide in the Banat, and in Transylvania of feeling sick from eating too much.^[4][5][9]

The old past participle lives on as the adjective învolt “full, with many petals”, said first of double flowers, recorded by Tiktin from Budai-Deleanu (1800).^[10][11] Ciorănescu derives from it învolta “to blossom” and dezvolta, which took the senses of French développer.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1573-1578 – învoalbi-le in the Psaltirea Scheiană, the first record.^[4][5]
• 16th century – învolbi-le in Coresi's Psalter.^[3]
• 1688 – învoalbe in the Bucharest Bible.^[8]
• 1800 – the adjective învolt in Budai-Deleanu.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive, regional and archaic; of water, waves, clouds or dust) To whirl, to swirl; to învolbura.^[4][9][1]
2. (reflexive, of beings) To spin round on the spot; to stop short.^[4][5]
3. (transitive, archaic) To wrap, to roll up.^[4][1]
4. (weaving) To twist the distaff; to wind the woven cloth on the beam; to prepare the threads for drawing in.^[4][5]
5. (reflexive, regional, of plants) To open out, to grow.^[4][9]
6. (regional, Banat) To open the eyes wide.^[4][9]

Word family

• învolt
• învolta
• dezvolta

Related words

• dezvoalbe
• holba
• suvoalbe
• volba
• volbură
• învolba
• învolbura
• Aromanian mvolbu
• Latin involvō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. învolba
3. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. învolba
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1270
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. învoalbe
6. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4540
7. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. învoalbe
8. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Ezekiel 4:12
9. ^ a b c d Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 433
10. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. învolt
11. ^ DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 561