științific

Forms

științific m or n (feminine singular științifică, masculine plural științifici, feminine/neuter plural științifice)^[1] Before the spelling settled, the word took several shapes: MDA2 lists the old variants scientific, sțiențific, științific with ⟨-nc-⟩ and știențific.^[2][3] A school manual of 1818 asks that a respons sțientific “a scientific answer” be given on scientific subjects.^[4] A periodical of 1844 writes limba scientifică “the scientific language”, with the Latin ⟨sc⟩.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French scientifique, reshaped after the Romanian noun știință “science, knowledge”.^[5][6][7][1] MDA2, the DLR, Tiktin and NODEX give Latin scientificus beside the French word, one of the many neologisms with more than one source in Romanian dictionaries.^[2][4][3][8]

Scriban derived the Latin word from scientia (“knowledge”) and faciō (“to make, do”), with the influence of the Romanian noun on its form.^[9] Wiktionary analyses it the same way, with the suffix -ficus (“making”), and the French word as a loan from Latin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from 1781, in a text he cites under the siglum MICU, where the word means “scientific”.^[3] MDA2 dates it from a Buda school manual of 1818, the Manuductor pentru învățătorii sholasticești, which has the form sțientific.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The DLR's quotations of the 1820s–1840s show the word in many spellings (sțientific, științific, scientific, știențific) before the modern form prevailed, sometimes glossed in the press by the older native words de învățătură or învățat.^[4] The old Romanian formations științelnic, științesc and științial were used in the same senses and fell out of use.^[2][3]

MDA2 distinguishes what belongs to science, what is based on its principles, what has scientific research as its object, and a person or body that does research.^[2] Under communism the phrase socialism științific “scientific socialism” named a part of Marxist-Leninist doctrine;^[2] MDA2 labels it historical.^[2] Compounds followed in the 1970s: științifico-fantastic “science-fiction” is recorded from 1974 and științifico-tehnic from 1976.^[10]

Timeline

• 1781 – the first record, in a text cited by Tiktin under the siglum MICU.^[3]
• 1818 – sțientific in the Manuductor, a school manual printed at Buda.^[2][4]
• 1829 – științific in a newspaper quotation.^[4]
• 1844 – scientifică in limba scientifică.^[4]
• 1974 – the compound științifico-fantastic “science-fiction”.^[10]
• 1976 – the compound științifico-tehnic “scientific and technical”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. scientific: belonging to or concerning science.^[5][2]
2. Based on the principles of science; rigorous: o metodă științifică “a scientific method”.^[5][9]
3. Having research in one or more fields of science as its object: o revistă științifică “a scientific journal”.^[2]
4. Doing research in a field of science: un cercetător științific “a research scientist”.^[2]

Word family

• științifico-fantastic

Related words

• știință
• Latin scientificus

Usage notes

The word is pronounced with a hiatus, ști-in-, as DEX and the DN state.^[5][6] Scriban notes its use as an adverb, a demonstra științific “to prove scientifically”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1130
3. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. științific
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. științific
5. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1095
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
7. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional
9. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1288
10. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE)