aparat

Forms

aparat n (plural aparate)^[1] Costinescu's dictionary of 1870 spells it apparatŭ.^[2] MDA2 also records a nonstandard plural aparaturi.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin apparātus (“preparation, equipment”), German Apparat and French apparat, with some senses after French appareil.^[4][1] The dictionaries weigh them differently: DELR puts German first, with the learned Latin word as a possible second source, and the French word for the sense “pomp”.^[5] MDA2 gives French and Latin,^[3] the DA French or else the Latin word directly,^[6] and Ciorănescu Latin alone, in the 19th century.^[7]

The Latin noun comes from apparō (“to prepare”),^[1][8] formed from ad- and parō (“to prepare”).^[5][9] The German word was borrowed from Latin in the late Middle Ages, first for the commentary of a text, then for equipment.^[9][10] Romanian apărat, the past participle of apăra “to defend”, goes back to the same Latin form.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1829.^[5][11] The DA's quotations come from Maiorescu's speeches of 1866 on, with aparatul constituțional, the institutions of a state.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

The DA in the early 20th century already had the main senses: a set of instruments for an experiment, a set of bodily organs with one function, the organs of an administration, and a solemn display or pomp.^[6] Damé (1893) gave “appliance, instrument; luxury, pomp; preparation”.^[12] Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 translated cu întreg aparatul as “with great pomp”.^[13] The pomp sense is now dated, and the technical sense is the usual one: aparat de radio, aparat de fotografiat, and the gymnastics apparatus.^[4][14][15]

Derivatives and compounds followed the technical sense: aparatură (1877), aparataj (1947) and fotoaparat (1966), and aparatcic (1982) for a Communist party official, from Russian.^[5] On the telephone la aparat means “speaking”.^[15]

Timeline

• 1829 – the first record.^[5][11]
• 1866 – the constitutional aparat of the state in Maiorescu's speeches.^[6][3]
• 1870 – apparatŭ “pomp, splendid preparation” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[2]
• 1877 – aparatură in Kogălniceanu.^[5]
• 1947 – aparataj in Arghezi.^[5]
• 1966 – fotoaparat.^[5]
• 1982 – aparatcic.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A device, an apparatus: a set of parts working together for a mechanical, technical or scientific task: aparat de radio “radio set”.^[4][3]
2. A technical system that turns one form of energy into another.^[4][3]
3. (anatomy) A set of organs that together perform a function: aparatul digestiv “the digestive system”.^[4][3]
4. The services and staff that run an institution or a field of activity: aparatul de stat “the state apparatus”.^[4][3]
5. The means used for a purpose: aparat critic “critical apparatus”, the notes of a critical edition.^[4][3]
6. (gymnastics) An apparatus on which exercises are performed.^[15][1]
7. (dated) pomp, a solemn display.^[3][5]

Word family

• aparataj
• aparatcic
• aparatură
• fotoaparat

Related words

• apăra
• apărat

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 55
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 77
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. aparat
6. ^ a b c d 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. aparat
7. ^ 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. aparat
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
10. ^ Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
11. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. aparat
12. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État, p. 1
13. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 28
14. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 109
15. ^ 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, 99