absolvire

Forms

absolvire f (plural absolviri)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian absolvi + -re: the long infinitive of the verb, which became a noun of action.^[2][3][4][1] The verb absolvi goes back to Latin absolvō (“to release, acquit; to complete”);^[5][4][6] DEX and Tiktin name German absolvieren as its model, and Ciorănescu takes the school sense from the vocabulary of Austrian and German education.^[5][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest dated record in these sources is Damé's dictionary of 1893, which defines it as the finishing of a course of study.^[7] MDA2 gives no older record.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The school sense, the completion of a year, a cycle or a form of education, has always been the main one.^[7][8][4] The DA and MDA2 also give the church sense, the forgiveness of sins, which follows the verb's sense “to absolve”.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1893 – absolvire “finishing of one's studies” in Damé.^[7]
• 1929 – Șăineanu defines it as the end of one's studies.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. graduation: the completion of a school year, a course or a form of education;^[4][3] diplomă de absolvire “graduation diploma”.^[4][3]
2. (church) absolution, the forgiveness of sins.^[3][2]

Related words

• absolvent

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. absolvire
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 4
4. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 3
5. ^ a b 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. absolvi
6. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. absolví
7. ^ a b c Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. s.v. absolvire
8. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 2