adins

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ad ipsum (“to that very thing”), from ad (“to”) and ipsum (“itself”): so DELR, following Hasdeu, Pușcariu, the DA and Candrea–Densusianu, with Tiktin as a possibility;^[1][2][3] MDA2 and Wiktionary also give a Latin origin.^[1][2][3] The nasal of the form with /ins/ (as in îns and dânsul) probably arose after prepositions that ended in a nasal; a Latin inscription from Salona with the spelling ⟨inpsuius⟩ may show such a nasal already in Latin.^[1]

Ciorănescu, like Cihac, Tiktin and Scriban, starts instead from ad id ipsum (“precisely for this”), a phrase Caesar uses of cohorts drawn up for that very purpose.^[4][1][5] An explanation from ad dē ipsō, proposed by Candrea and in CADE, he rejects, since the neuter pronoun could not be used alone.^[4][1] He compares Catalan adés (“then”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is Codex Bratul of 1559–1560, where adins is an emphatic pronoun before a personal pronoun with -și: adins voiși “to yourselves, one another”.^[1] Tiktin quotes the old law code Îndreptarea legii: „Să nu cinstești pre tine adins tineși mai-nainte de cel mai mare de tine” “do not honour yourself before one greater than you”.^[6] MDA2 dates the word to the Codicele Voronețean (c. 1563–1583).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The old pronoun never stood alone, only with a personal pronoun, and could take the place of a preposition or of the dative.^[1][4] Ciorănescu dates the change to an adverb to the 17th century;^[4][1] DELR records the phrase cu deadins “earnestly, with care” already in a Coresi print of 1567–1568.^[4][1] DELR traces the prepositional phrases to a Latin adverbial phrase “for this very purpose”, which gave “on purpose, in earnest”.^[1] In these phrases adins came to be felt as a noun, so that it takes the definite article and tot: cu tot dinadinsul.^[1] Only Budai-Deleanu used it alone, as a noun and an adjective meaning “serious, a serious matter”.^[1]

The Lexicon de la Buda of 1825 notes that it is never said without a preposition, and gives in adinsu and intradinsu with two senses, “in earnest” and “on purpose”.^[7] Înadins as an adjective, “made for a particular purpose”, is recorded from 1835.^[1]

Timeline

• 1559–1560 – the emphatic pronoun in Codex Bratul, the first record.^[1]
• c. 1563–1583 – in the Codicele Voronețean.^[2][6]
• 1567–1568 – the adverbial phrase cu deadins in a Coresi print.^[1]
• c. 1660 – in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[8]
• 1825 – in adinsu, intradinsu in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[7]
• 1835 – înadins as an adjective.^[1]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (only in phrases) din adins, înadins, într-adins: on purpose, intentionally.^[4][1][3]
2. în adins (dated, Moldavian): in earnest, not in jest.^[9][5]
3. cu tot dinadinsul: with all one's might, at any cost.^[1][2]
4. mai cu dinadinsul (dated): above all, especially.^[1][4]
5. cu deadins, cu deadinsul (obsolete): seriously, with care, with persistence.^[1][2]

Pronoun

1. (obsolete) An emphatic pronoun before a personal pronoun: oneself, one another.^[1][2][6]

Word family

• înadins
• dinadins

Related words

• dânsul

Usage notes

Today the word occurs only fused with a preposition, in înadins, dinadins and the phrases above.^[1][4] A variant adin occurs once as a pronoun in the Palia de la Orăștie, and in Sălaj in cu de-adin and în adin “on purpose”.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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. adins
2. ^ 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. 1, 16
3. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. adins
5. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 71
6. ^ 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. adíns
7. ^ a b Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 5
8. ^ Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. adins
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. adins