arșiță

Forms

arșiță f (plural arșițe)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *arsīcia (“burning”), with calor (“heat”) understood, the feminine of an adjective *arsīcius formed on ārdeō (“to burn”):^{[2][3][4][5][1]} so Candrea and Densusianu, Pușcariu, the DA, Scriban and DEX.^[2][6] The adjective is continued in Italian arsiccio, with the verb arsicciare (“to dry in the sun”).^[3][7] The DA explains the senses by the different nouns once understood with the adjective: heat, a burnt place, a stinging fly.^[8]

Hasdeu derived it from ars, the participle of arde, and Șăineanu saw a Romanian formation like rămășiță from rămas.^[2][9] Tiktin also explains it as the participle with the suffix -iță, keeping the Slavic stress, and thinks Slavic words of related meaning helped; he refers to the Latin explanation as well.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to Miron Costin's chronicle of about 1675, where people fled through a gate from the heat and terror of a fire: „de arșiță și de groaza focului”.^[2][10] MDA2 cites the same passage under Nicolae Costin.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is the burning heat of the summer sun, or of a fire;^[10] Cantemir's Divan says that there will be no heat and drought there, „acolo arșiță și secetă nu va fi”.^[10] In popular use it is also the heat of fever, the burning and thirst of a sick person, and some skin complaints.^[5][4]

The land senses are regional: a slope facing the sun, a stony or sandy place burnt by the sun, and in Banat and Maramureș a slope cleared by burning for pasture or hay.^[4][3][11] In Maramureș it also became a place name.^[11] In Transylvania and Bukovina arșiță is a mosquito with a painful bite, Culex annulatus.^[3][6]

Timeline

• c. 1675 – Miron Costin's chronicle, of the heat of a fire, the first record.^[2][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Great, scorching heat of the sun; swelter, dog days: Pe arșița asta nu ieșim din casă. “In this heat we are not going out.”^[5][4][1]
2. (popular, often figurative) The feeling of heat and thirst of a sick person; fever.^[5][4]
3. (regional) A slope facing the sun; a place burnt by the sun, or a clearing burnt for pasture.^[4][3]
4. (regional) A mosquito, Culex annulatus.^[4][3]

Related words

• arde
• ars
• arsură

Usage notes

The word is stressed árșiță or arșíță;^[5][6] Scriban gives arșíță for Muntenia and Transylvania and árșiță for Moldavia and Oltenia.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. arde
3. ^ a b c d e f 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. arșiță
4. ^ 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, 103
5. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 64
6. ^ a b c d Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 125
7. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. 16
8. ^ 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. arșiță
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 37
10. ^ 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. arșiță
11. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. arșiță