anterior

Forms

anterior m or n (feminine singular anterioară, masculine plural anteriori, feminine/neuter plural anterioare)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French antérieur and directly borrowed from Latin anterior (“earlier, previous”), the etymologie multiplă of DELR, MDA2 and DEX;^[2][3][4][1] Tiktin and the DA give French as the model and Latin as its source,^[5][6] and Marcu & Maneca compare Italian anteriore as well.^[7] The Latin word is a late comparative formed on ante (“before, in front”) after the model of posterior.^[8][9][2] The French word was borrowed from Late Latin in 1488, first in the spatial sense.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in Săulescu in 1837.^[2] Tiktin dates the word to 1841, and Negulici's dictionary of neologisms of 1848 explains it as “which is before, past”, of an epoch, an act, a contract or a debt.^[5][11]

Semantic evolution

Both senses of the French word came in together: earlier in time and lying in front.^[2][6] Grammar took it for the tenses perfectul anterior and viitorul anterior, the past anterior and the future perfect.^[5][12] Phonetics uses it for sounds made in the front of the mouth, such as the vowels e and i.^[4][13] The DA records the adverb, “before”, as early as 1913, and Scriban lists it with posterior and ulterior.^[6][14] The noun anterioritate is recorded from 1840.^[2]

Timeline

• 1837 – anterior in Săulescu, the first record.^[2]
• 1840 – the noun anterioritate, from French and Latin.^[2]
• 1841 – Tiktin's first record.^[5]
• 1848 – Negulici's dictionary of neologisms explains it.^[11]
• 1913 – the DA records the adjective and the adverb.^[6][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. previous, earlier, coming before a given time or event.^[4][3][1]
2. Situated in the front: membrele anterioare “the forelimbs”.^[4][3][12]
3. (phonetics, of sounds) Articulated in the front part of the mouth.^[4][3]
4. (grammar) In perfect anterior and viitor anterior, tenses of an action completed before another.^[5][12]

Adverb

1. previously, before: Am mai discutat anterior despre asta.^[6][4][1]

Word family

• anterioritate

Related words

• înainte
• Latin ante

Usage notes

Anterior is the opposite of posterior.^[5][13]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. anterior
3. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 68
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. 1, 46
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. anterior
6. ^ 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. anterior
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. anterior
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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. anterior
12. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. anterior
13. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 93
14. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 105