apropiere

Forms

apropiere f (plural apropieri)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian apropia + -re: the long infinitive of the verb, which became an abstract noun of action and state, the opposite of depărtare.^[2][3][4][1] The verb apropia goes back to Late Latin appropiō (“to come near”), built on prope (“near”).^[5][1] Ciorănescu notes that the Latin verb came to be confused with appropinquō (“to approach”).^[5] The verb survives south of the Danube: Aromanian aprochiu and Megleno-Romanian prochiu.^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun is first recorded in 1581, in Coresi's Carte de învățătură.^[3][4] There it names a state, nearness: the Pharisee is said to have moved away from closeness to God.^[2] The verb it is formed on is older, recorded from about 1500 in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[6]

Semantic evolution

DA separates two uses: the action of coming nearer, as of game drawing near or of spring arriving, and the state of being near.^[2][4] From the second come the adverbial phrases în apropiere “nearby”, prin apropiere “somewhere near” and din apropiere “from close by”.^[2][7] Tiktin records the figurative sense “rapprochement”, as in o încercare de apropiere “an attempt at rapprochement”.^[4] MDA2 adds the presence of someone felt as a force, the winning of someone's friendship or trust, and reconciliation.^[3] An old phrase cu apropiere meant “approximately”, and the variant apropiare was still noted in the 19th century.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – the verb apropia in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[6]
• 1581 – apropiere “nearness” in Coresi's Carte de învățătură, the first record.^[3][4]
• 1688 – the genitive apropierii in the Bucharest Bible.^[8]
• 1801 – Klein's dictionary glosses apropiere with Latin and Hungarian words for “approach”.^[9]
• 1862 – Pontbriant records the phrase cu apropiere “approximately”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of approaching or of bringing near, and its result: apropierea iernii “the coming of winter”.^[7][3][1]
2. nearness, vicinity; in the phrases în apropiere “nearby”, prin apropiere “somewhere near” and din apropiere “from close by”.^[7][3]
3. (figurative) rapprochement: a coming closer to someone, winning their friendship or trust; also reconciliation.^[3][4][10]

Related words

• apropia
• aproape
• apropiat

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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. apropiere
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 84
4. ^ 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. apropiere
5. ^ 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. apropia
6. ^ a b 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. aproape
7. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 56
8. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Iisus Navi 15:7
9. ^ Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 303
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. apropiere