anume

Forms

anume m or f or n (indeclinable)^[1] Regional and old variants are anumea (Bucovina) and anome: „un părinte, anome Ion” “a father named Ion”.^[2][3] Old texts also have pre anume, which the DA explains as a blend of anume and pre nume: „au murit împăratul Moscului, pre anume Alecsii Mihailovici” “the tsar of Muscovy died, Aleksei Mikhailovich by name” (Neculce).^[3][4]

Etymology

It is a compound from Romanian a + nume (“name”), of the preposition and the noun.^[5][2][3][1] Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of nume, and Scriban too forms it from the noun.^[6][7] Șăineanu and the CADE derived it straight from Latin ad nōmen.^[8][9]

The noun is inherited from the same Latin word and survives in all four branches: Aromanian numă, Megleno-Romanian numi and Istro-Romanian lume.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1564, in a document.^[4] MDA2's first is Coresi's homiliary of 1581, which names “the priests of the church by the citadel of Brașov, anume Father Iane and Father Mihai”.^[2][3] The DA explains that in the old language it meant “by name, with the name” and was felt to belong to nume.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Before a name it meant “called, by name”, and with verbs of calling, writing or knowing “by name, individually”: a document of 1629 lists the shares “which I write above by name”.^[3][2] From naming came the explanatory “namely, that is” (și anume); the DA notes that old documents often have the Slavonic formula na ime “by name” in the same use,^[3] and Scriban complained that Transylvanians overused it in imitation of German nämlich.^[3][7]

The emphatic senses grew from there: “precisely, exactly” (cine anume?) and “on purpose, specially” (anume pentru tine).^[3][4][10] The old language also used it for “on the pretext that, believing that”, as in Miron Costin.^[7][4] As an invariable adjective it means “special, particular” (un loc anume), and the derivative anumit “certain” is a newer formation.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1564 – a document, the first record.^[4]
• 1581 – anume before personal names in Coresi's homiliary.^[2][3]
• 1629 – “by name” in a deed of sale.^[3]
• 1688 – eleven occurrences in the Bucharest Bible, before names.^[11]
• 1825 – the Lexicon de la Buda gives “by name”, “precisely”, “truly” and “namely”.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (invariable) Special, done or said for a particular purpose: o rochie anume pentru nuntă.^[5][12][1]

Adverb

1. By the name of, called: un om, anume Ion.^[5][12]
2. namely, that is: Am vizitat două orașe, și anume Iașiul și Clujul.^[5][1]
3. On purpose, deliberately, specially: Am gătit anume pentru tine.^[5][12]
4. precisely, exactly: Unde anume?^[5][2]

Word family

• anumit

Related words

• nume
• numi
• Latin nōmen

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 76
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. anume
4. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. anume
5. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 52
6. ^ a b c 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. nume
7. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 108
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 28
9. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. anume
10. ^ 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. 23
11. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Gn 22:24
12. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 98