abilitate

Forms

abilitate f (plural abilități)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French habileté (“skill”), and directly borrowed from Latin habilitās (“aptitude”), a neologism of the 1840s.^[2][3][4] DEX 2009, MDN and Tiktin give the French form as habilité; the DA calls it a neologism from French, and Scriban takes it from Latin alone.^{[5][6][7][8][9]} Wiktionary also analyses it as from Romanian abil + -itate.^[1] The Latin noun is formed on habilis (“apt”) with the suffix -tās.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1846, in a text of Laurian.^[2][7] Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 explains it with the native words for capacity, understanding and skill.^[11] MDA2 gives a much later first record, the CADE of 1926.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the sense “skill, dexterity, cleverness”: Laurian and Massim define it as the quality of a person or thing that is able, and the DA quotes Maiorescu on a politician restoring his party's standing with little scruple but much skill.^[12][8] In the plural it took a pejorative sense, “tricks, dodges”, recorded by the DLRLC in the phrase abilități avocățești “lawyer's tricks”.^[13][5] DEX 2009 adds “skills, habits” to the plural, and DEXI a sense in psychology, the inborn or acquired basis of a person's high mental performance.^[5][14] Scriban and MDN record a legal sense, the capacity required by law to do something, such as to inherit.^[9][6]

Timeline

• 1846 – first record, in a text of Laurian.^[2][7]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[11]
• 1871 – defined in Laurian and Massim's dictionary.^[12]
• 1926 – in the CADE, MDA2's first record.^[3]
• 1955 – the pejorative plural “tricks” in the DLRLC.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. skill, dexterity, cleverness; the quality of being abil.^[5][6][1]
2. (in the plural) Skills or habits;^[5][13] (pejorative) tricks, wiles.^[5][13]
3. (law) The legal capacity to do something.^[6][9]
4. (psychology) The inborn or acquired basis of a person's high mental performance.^[14]

Related words

• abil
• Latin habilitās

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. abil
3. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 2
4. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan” (1998), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române, 2nd ed., București: Univers Enciclopedic, p. 2
5. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 2
6. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. abilitate
7. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. abilitate
8. ^ a b Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. abilitate
9. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 58
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. abilitate
12. ^ a b Laurian, A. T.; Massim, I. C. (1871–1876), Dictionariulu limbei romane, 2 vols., Bucuresci: Noua Typographia a Laboratoriloru Romani, p. s.v. abilitate
13. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 3
14. ^ a b Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. abilitate