Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word șosetă

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1935 Ioachim Botez's memoir Însemnările unui belfer More words from the 20th century
Borrowed from
French chaussette
Ultimate origin
French chausse

Pronunciation

  • /ʃoˈse.tə/[1]

Forms

șosetă f (plural șosete)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French chaussette (“sock”).[2][3][4][5][6][1] That word is formed from French chausse + -ette, with a diminutive suffix;[1] Wiktionary compares Occitan cauceta and Catalan calceta.[1]

Graur places it in the family of Latin calx (“heel”): calceō (“to put on shoes”) gave French chausser, from which come chausson, the source of șoșon, the diminutive that gave this word, and chaussée, the source of șosea.[7] The same Latin verb survives in încălța.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record to 1935, in Ioachim Botez's memoir Însemnările unui belfer, with the sense still current: a short sock that covers the foot to just above the ankle.[3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the same since the first record.[3][2] The DLRLC of the 1950s notes that the word is used mostly in the plural, for a pair.[8]

Timeline

  • 1935 – first record, in Ioachim Botez's Însemnările unui belfer.[3]
  • 1955–1957 – defined in the DLRLC as a short stocking, chiefly in the plural.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sock: a short stocking that covers the foot only up to just above the ankle.[2][3][1]
  • șoșon
  • șosea
  • French chaussette

Usage notes

The word is mostly used in the plural, șosete: și-a cumpărat trei perechi de șosete “he bought three pairs of socks”.[8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1092
  3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1119
  4. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
  5. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual
  6. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria
  7. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică
  8. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 4, 354
  9. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional

Related etymologies

  • cap · also from French
  • dura · also from French
  • pur · also from French
  • pană · also from French
  • pat · also from French
  • masă · also from French
  • lac · also from French
  • primar · also from French
Cite this entry

“Șosetă.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/%C8%99oset%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·