ținti

Forms

a ținti (third-person singular present țintește, past participle țintit), 4th conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is a verb formed from Romanian țintă (“small nail; target”).^[2][3][4][1] MDA2 also records a rare old variant of the first conjugation, ⟨ținta⟩ (present ⟨țintez⟩).^[3]

The noun is from Old Church Slavonic цѧта (cęta, “coin”),^[5][1] which goes back to Proto-Slavic *cęta.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DLR's earliest dated quotation, of 1831, uses the form țintat for a captive pinned down and held motionless in the sun.^[4] MDA2's first record is Petru Maior's Istoria, in the Buda printing of 1834: an army sets out with its heart țintită “set” against the Romanians.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The first group of senses follows the noun's meaning “nail”: to fix something with nails, to nail to a cross, and figuratively to pin someone in place; these are old or regional now.^[4] Asachi used it for sticking an arrow into someone's back.^[4]

The sense “to aim”, from țintă “target”, is recorded in Drăghici and Pontbriant, and with an object in Delavrancea: to aim at a mark, then to hit it.^[4] Figuratively one directs thoughts or feelings at someone, as in Maior and Asachi, and in the 20th century satire or criticism “aims” at its targets.^[4] Șăineanu and CADE record the sense “to aspire, to have as one's goal”.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1831 – țintat “pinned down, held fast”.^[4]
• 1834 – țintită in Petru Maior's Istoria, the Buda printing.^[3]
• 1849 – a rebellion țintită împotriva românilor “aimed against the Romanians”.^[4]
• 1929 – Șăineanu: to fix, and figuratively to have as a goal.^[6]
• 1931 – CADE: to aspire, to tend toward.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To aim a weapon at someone or something, taking it as a target; to ochi.^[2][8]
2. (figurative) To allude to something or someone; to target: Critica lui țintea conducerea.^[2]
3. (figurative) To fix one's eyes or gaze on someone; to aținti.^[2]
4. (figurative) To aspire to something, to strive for it: Țintește sus.^[2][7]
5. (dated, regional) To fix with small nails; to nail down.^[4][3]

Word family

• aținti

Related words

• țintui
• țintaș

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1163
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, 1341
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. ținti
5. ^ 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. țintă
6. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 653
7. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. ținti
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. ținti