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Etymology and origin of the Romanian word șoc

șoc1 shock

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1906 Alexi's Romanian–German dictionary
Borrowed from
French choc
Ultimate origin
French choquer
Etymology tree of șoc1
inherited borrowed derived
French choc
Romanian șoc

Forms

șoc n (plural șocuri)[1]

Etymology

The word for a shock is borrowed from French choc.[2][3][4][1] The French noun was formed in the 16th century from French choquer (“to strike, to shock”), a verb of Germanic origin.[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record to Alexi's Romanian–German dictionary of 1906, in the sense “sudden, violent collision”.[3]

Semantic evolution

From the physical blow the word passed to medicine, a sudden disturbance of the body's functions after an injury or operation, and to the mind, șoc nervos “nervous shock”.[3][4] Technical and military phrases followed: undă de șoc “shock wave”, șoc termic “thermal shock”, unități de șoc “shock troops”, tratament de șoc “shock treatment”.[3][2] Since the 1990s the press has used it as a second element of compounds, as in declarație-șoc “shock statement” and imagine-șoc.[6]

Timeline

  • 1906 – first record, in Alexi's dictionary.[3]
  • 1990s – compounds like declarație-șoc and schimbare-șoc in the press.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sudden, violent collision between two bodies.[2][3] De șoc (of military units) “assigned a hard task in an offensive”, and șoc termic “thermal shock”, the sudden cooling of a piece in manufacture.[2][3][1]
  2. (medicine) A sudden, general disturbance of the body's functions, and șoc nervos “nervous shock”, caused by a violent emotion.[2][3]
  3. (figurative) A strong, violent impression.[3]
  4. (automotive) The choke of a carburettor.[1]

șoc2 set of sixty

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1778 a document published by Iorga
Borrowed from
German Schock

Forms

șoc n (plural șocuri)[7][3]

Etymology

The word for a set of sixty is borrowed from German Schock (“a set of sixty”).[7][3] The German word, recorded since the 13th century as Middle High German schoc, is of unclear origin.[5] Kluge suggests a link with schocken (“to stack sheaves in heaps”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a document of 1778, published by Iorga, in the form șog and the sense “sixty items making up a set”.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

It was a trade unit in Transylvania and Muntenia, used for goods such as glassware in documents of 1825 and 1833.[7] In north-eastern Oltenia the form șuc names a flock of twenty to sixty sheep.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1778 – șog in a document published by Iorga, the first record.[7][3]
  • 1825 – 10 șocuri sticlă măruntă “ten sixties of small glassware” in a merchant's document.[7]
  • 1833 – șocuri in a list of merchandise.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (obsolete, Transylvania and Muntenia) A set of sixty objects of the same kind.[7][3][8]
  2. (regional, in the form șuc) A flock of twenty to sixty sheep.[7][3]
  • șoca
  • șocare
  • șocant
  • șocat

Usage notes

DEX has only the word for a shock; the DLR and MDA2 list the word for sixty as a separate headword, with the old variant șog and the regional șuc.[2][7][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 1091
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1111
  4. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. șoc
  5. ^ a b c Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 823
  6. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. șoc
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. șoc
  8. ^ a b Bulgăr, Gheorghe; Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gheorghe (2002), Dicționar de arhaisme și regionalisme, 2 vols., București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. șoc

Related etymologies

  • casă · also from German
  • pas · also from German
  • lac · also from German
  • rută · also from German
  • arie · also from German
  • laț · also from German
  • must · also from German
  • telefon · also from German
Cite this entry

“Șoc.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/%C8%99oc. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·