apropo

Forms

apropo adverb; noun, neuter (plural apropouri)^[1][2] The noun also has the form apropou; older variants are the adverb apropos and the noun apropont.^[3][4][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French à propos (“to the purpose, by the way”), also written à-propos, as DER, DELR, DEX, DN and MDN give it.^{[5][3][2][6][7][1]} The French phrase is formed from à (“to”), from Latin ad, and propos (“proposal; talk, subject of conversation”), from proposer, an adaptation of Latin prōpōnō after poser (“to put”).^[3]

The obsolete variant apropont was influenced by pont, DELR says.^[3] The form apropozito (1856) is a separate loan, from Italian a proposito.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1799, in Iorgovici, spelled a propo.^[3] MDA2 and the DA quote it first from Vasile Alecsandri's plays: „Apropo de însurat...: nu s-o înfățișat nici un holtei” “by the way, speaking of marrying: no bachelor has turned up”.^[4][8][9]

Semantic evolution

The DA describes it as a familiar word used mainly by speakers who knew French, to bring up something that comes to mind while another subject is being discussed.^[8] Followed by de, it means “concerning”: apropo de însurat “speaking of marrying”.^[4][9]

As a noun it first meant a remark made at the right moment, a witty word: Alecsandri wrote „Are și apropo, galantomul!” “he has wit, too, the gallant!”.^[8][9] Șăineanu's dictionary gives the apropourile of Cilibi Moise as an example of such sayings.^[10] The modern noun means a hint, usually a malicious one, or a proposal made in a roundabout way.^[2][4] Laurian and Massim in 1871 rejected both the adverb and the noun as French phrases foreign to the spirit of the language.^[11]

Timeline

• 1799 – a propo in Iorgovici, the first record.^[3]
• 1856 – the Italian-shaped apropozito.^[3]
• 1862 – Pontbriant glosses apropo with French à propos, à temps.^[12]
• 1871 – Laurian and Massim list apropo and apropou among the neologisms to avoid.^[11]
• 1875 – apropo de însurat and the noun apropo “wit” in Alecsandri's plays.^[4][8]

Meanings

Adverb

1. by the way, incidentally: used to bring up something that has just come to mind: Apropo, ai primit scrisoarea mea?^[2][5][1]
2. apropo de – speaking of, concerning.^[4]

Noun

1. A hint or innuendo, often malicious, aimed at someone; also apropou.^[2][7][1]
2. A proposal made to someone in a roundabout way.^[2][4]
3. (dated) A fitting or witty remark; presence of mind.^[9][4]

Usage notes

A face un apropou (or apropouri) means “to drop hints”, sometimes about someone's private life.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. 56
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. apropo
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 84
5. ^ 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. apropo
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. apropo
7. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. apropo
8. ^ 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. apropo
9. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 111
10. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 31
11. ^ a b Laurian, A. T.; Massim, I. C. (1871), Glossariu care coprinde vorbele d'in limba romana straine prin originea sau form'a loru, cumu si celle de origine indouiosa, Bucuresci: Noua Typographia a Laboratoriloru Romani, p. s.v. apropo
12. ^ Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 38