șubred

Forms

șubred m or n (feminine singular șubredă, masculine plural șubrezi, feminine/neuter plural șubrede)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown to most dictionaries: DEX, the DLR, MDA2, Tiktin, Scriban and Șăineanu leave it open.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} Ciorănescu's tentative view is that it is inherited from Latin hybridus (“hybrid”), with initial ⟨ș⟩ from the prefix ex-.^[8] He compares the change of ⟨și⟩ to ⟨șu⟩ in șuiera, and the step from “hybrid” to “degenerate, weak” with bastard.^[8] The ending ⟨-ed⟩, in his view, can only continue -idus, which was not productive in Romanian, as in lânced, muced and rânced.^[8] Wiktionary follows this proposal and compares Ancient Greek ὕβρις (húbris).^[1]

Cihac, Loewe and Weigand derived it from Old Church Slavonic шѹпль (šuplĭ, “feeble”) with the suffix ⟨-ed⟩, which Ciorănescu rejects.^[8] The DLR compares the regional synonyms șubrav and șubru.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 and Tiktin date the first record to about 1750, in a document published in Iorga's Studii și documente.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word is used of living beings and their bodies, “frail, sickly”, and of things, “unsound, rickety”: Tiktin quotes a footbridge made of a willow trunk that might be too weak to hold.^[5][3] Figuratively it describes arguments and theories that do not withstand criticism, and by extension anything precarious.^[2][4]

Timeline

• before 1750 – the first record, in a document in Iorga's Studii și documente.^[4][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of people: lacking vigour, frail, easily tired or taken ill: Bunicul a rămas șubred după boală.^[2][4]
2. Of things: lacking solidity, rickety, ready to collapse.^[2][4]
3. (figurative) Of arguments or theories: unsound, flimsy, open to criticism.^[2][9]
4. By extension, precarious, uncertain.^[2]

Word family

• șubrezi
• șubrezeală

Usage notes

MDA2 records the regional form jubred and the obsolete șubrid.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c 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. 1096
3. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. șubred
4. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1136
5. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. șubred
6. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 1289
7. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 624
8. ^ 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. șubred
9. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. șubred