adânci

Forms

adânci (third-person singular present adâncește, past participle adâncit) 4th conjugation^[1] The old language used adânca, of the first conjugation: the 1688 Bible has „Groapă sapă și o adâncă pre ea” “he dug a pit and made it deep” (Psalm 7:16).^[2]

Etymology

It is from Romanian adânca, the older verb of the first conjugation, which moved to the fourth conjugation in the 19th century.^[3][2] Ciorănescu explains the change by the sense: the inchoative conjugation seemed the most fitting for “to grow deep”.^[4] DELR records both views, a derivative of the older verb (Hasdeu, DA) or of the adjective adânc (Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu, Ciorănescu, DEX), and Wiktionary gives the suffixed form from Romanian adânc + -i.^[5][1]

For the older verb itself, Pușcariu and the DA proposed a Latin verb Vulgar Latin *adancō, beside aduncō “to bend”, which Candrea–Densusianu cite, and compare Italian aoncare of the Lucca dialect; others form it in Romanian from the adjective.^[5][6] MDA2 still gives the Latin verb.^[7] Tiktin found a direct Latin origin hard to prove.^[2] The adjective goes back to aduncus (“hooked, concave”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first date is 1520, a document published in DRHB II.^[2] DELR records the older adânca in the Psaltirea Voronețeană (1551–1558).^[5] Coresi's Psalter of 1577, MDA2's first record, has it in the figurative sense: „Foarte adâncară-se cugetele tale” “thy thoughts are very deep” (Psalm 91:5).^[7][2] DELR dates the fourth-conjugation verb to about 1660, in a Hronograf.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From “to make deeper, dig deeper” the verb developed the reflexive “to sink, go down”, said in the old language of eyes sinking into the face.^[2][3] In the 19th century the reflexive also took a horizontal sense, to go deep into a forest or vanish into the distance, as in Eminescu and Alecsandri.^[3] Figurative uses followed: to become absorbed in thoughts or dreams (Negruzzi, Delavrancea) and, transitively, to probe with the mind, as in Conachi.^[3][2] DEX adds “to grow more intense”.^[8] In slang the verb means to slash someone with a knife.^[9]

Timeline

• 1520 – the first date Tiktin gives, from a document in DRHB II.^[2]
• 1551–1558 – the older adânca in the Psaltirea Voronețeană.^[5]
• 1577 – adâncară-se “were deep” in Coresi's Psalter.^[7][2]
• c. 1660 – the fourth-conjugation adânci in a Hronograf.^[5]
• 1688 – adâncă “made deep” in the Bucharest Bible.^[2]
• 19th century – adânci replaces adânca.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive and reflexive) To deepen; to dig deeper.^[8][1]
2. (reflexive) To go deep into something, move inward; to vanish from sight;^[8][7] (figurative) to become absorbed in something: s-a adâncit în lectură “he was absorbed in reading”.^[8][7]
3. (transitive, figurative) To study or examine thoroughly.^[8][7]
4. (reflexive, figurative) To grow more intense.^[8][1]
5. (slang) To slash someone with a knife.^[9]

Word family

• adâncitură

Related words

• adânc
• adânca

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. adâncí
3. ^ a b c d e 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. adânci
4. ^ 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. adînc
5. ^ a b c d e f 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. adânc
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 210
7. ^ 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, 15
8. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 12
9. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. adânci