șef

Forms

șef m (plural șefi)^[1] The feminine is șefă (plural șefe).^[2][3] In 1816 Asachi still wrote the word as in French, chef.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French chef (“chief, boss”), as DER, MDA2, DEX, Tiktin and the neologism dictionaries agree.^{[5][4][2][6][3][1]} The French word goes back to Latin caput (“head”).^[1][7] Romanian also kept the Latin word by inheritance as cap “head”, so the two are doublets.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1805.^[6] MDA2 cites first L. Asachi's translation of 1816 on Prince Menshikov, with the French spelling chef.^[4] The sense was the head of an institution or group.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word spread with the administrative and military vocabulary taken from French in the 19th century.^[8] Compounds name ranks and posts, such as șef de orchestră “conductor” and șef de lucrări, a university rank between assistant and senior lecturer.^[2][3] Șef de școală is a scholar who founded a school of thought.^[4] Colloquially șefu (vocative) addresses an equal or a stranger;^[2][5] DER notes the slang sense “mate”.^[2][5] The slang feminine șefuleasă “boss's wife; girl” is a curious formation that Ciorănescu explains from the articled șeful or an expressive ⟨l⟩.^[5]

Timeline

• 1805 – the first record.^[6]
• 1816 – chef in Asachi's translation.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A chief, boss: a person who leads an organisation, institution or group; conducător.^[2][4][1]
2. A superior in rank or post.^[2]
3. (colloquial, vocative) A form of address to a man, often a stranger.^[2][5]
4. șef de lucrări: a lecturer, a university rank below associate professor.^[2][3]

Word family

• șefie
• șefuleasă

Related words

• cap
• French chef

Usage notes

MDA2 records a separate Transylvanian noun șef, a damper closing the chimney flue, compared with Hungarian csév and of unknown origin.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 1086
3. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. șef
4. ^ 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. 2, 1094
5. ^ a b c d e 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. șef
6. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. șef
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. caput
8. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. șef