albeață

Forms

albeață f (uncountable)^[1] The variant albețe was often used with a singular sense; the Bucharest Bible of 1688 has the plural for the eye disease: „va lepăda albețele” “he will be rid of the white film on his eyes” (Tobit 11:8).^[2][3]

Etymology

Most dictionaries take it as formed from Romanian alb + -eață.^{[3][4][5][2][6]} Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of alb and finds the derivation natural within Romanian.^[7]

Others derive it from Vulgar Latin *albitia, a by-form of albitiēs (“whiteness”), from albus (“white”): so Candrea and Densusianu, Hasdeu and Pascu, and DELR follows them.^{[8][9][10][7]} Wiktionary gives both explanations.^[1] For the eye disease, Candrea and Densusianu compare Latin album (“white”) used of the eye in Celsus and Vegetius.^[8]

The word has cognates south of the Danube: Aromanian albeatsã (“whiteness; egg white; white face paint”) and Megleno-Romanian albeătsă.^[10][11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is a letter from Bistrița of the early 17th century, with the senses “whiteness” and the eye disease.^[10] Tiktin's first date is 1640, in a Ceaslov (book of hours).^[2] The Slavonic–Romanian lexicon Lex.St. of about 1660 has albeața as the equivalent of a Slavonic word.^[13]

Semantic evolution

From “whiteness, white colour” the word passed to a white spot on the eye, the leucoma, and loosely the cataract.^[3][4][2] C. Negruzzi wrote of „albeața feței și a grumazilor” “the whiteness of her face and neck”.^[2][5] From the eye disease came the figurative sense “blindness” and the phrase a avea albeață “not to see things clearly, to misjudge”.^[4] Regionally it also names the white of the eye and two plants, Geum urbanum and Pulicaria dysenterica.^[4]

Timeline

• early 17th century – in a letter from Bistrița, the first record.^[10]
• 1640 – in a Ceaslov.^[2]
• c. 1660 – in the Slavonic–Romanian lexicon Lex.St.^[13]
• 1688 – albețele “the white film on the eyes” in the Bucharest Bible.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. whiteness, the quality of being white, white colour.^[3][4][1]
2. (medicine) leucoma, a white opacity of the cornea, and loosely a cataract.^[3][4][1]
3. (figurative) Blindness, failure to see things as they are.^[4]
4. (regional) The white of the eye.^[4]
5. (regional, botany) A name of two plants, wood avens and fleabane.^[4]

Related words

• alb
• albi
• Aromanian albeatsã

Usage notes

In Moldavia the form albață is also found.^[2][4] The plural is albețe.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. albeață
3. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 25
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 35
5. ^ 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. albeață
6. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 83
7. ^ 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. alb
8. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București
9. ^ Hasdeu, B. P. (1886–1898), Etymologicum Magnum Romaniae: dicționarul limbei istorice și poporane a românilor, 4 vols. (A–Bărbat), București: Socec, p. s.v. albeață
10. ^ a b c d 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. albeață
11. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 80
12. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 10
13. ^ a b 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. albeață