argument

Forms

argument n (plural argumente)^[1] Teodor Corbea's dictionary of 1691–1697 has the Latin form argumentum with the Romanian plural argumenturi.^[2] Cantemir writes argimenturile in his history: „Argimenturile dară și doveadele... îmi sânt aceastea” “these, then, are my arguments and proofs”.^[3] Other old variants are argomént, after Italian, and the Romanianized argumânt with the plural argumínte.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin argūmentum (“proof, evidence”), also borrowed from French argument.^[2][4][5][1] Tiktin and the DA name only Latin, and the first records, from the 1690s on, are in Latin form.^[6][3][2] The variant argomént comes from Italian argomento, and argumânt is a Romanianized form.^[2]

The Latin noun is formed arguō (“to make clear, to prove”) with the suffix -mentum.^[7][1] DELR traces the verb to a root meaning “shining, clear” that is also found in argentum (“silver”) and Ancient Greek ἄργυρος (árguros, “silver”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in Teodor Corbea's Latin–Romanian dictionary of 1691–1697.^[2] Tiktin's first date is 1703.^[6] In 1705 Cantemir glossed it in the word list of his Istoria ieroglifică as “proof, word, convincing speech”.^[3] MDA2's first record is also from Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The core sense has stayed the same since Cantemir: a piece of reasoning or a proof brought in support of a claim.^[3][4] In 1848 Negulici recorded two further senses, a proof in general and the short summary of a book's subject.^[8] The DA marks the second as a rare Latinism or Gallicism, used for the printed summary of a play handed out at the National Theatre in Bucharest.^[3][5]

Mathematics gave it the sense of the independent variable of a function.^[4][5] MDN adds the computing sense of a value used as a key in sorting or searching a file.^[9] The verb argumenta “to argue” was first recorded in the same dictionary of Corbea, in the form argumentuluire.^[2]

Timeline

• 1691–1697 – argumentum, plural argumenturi, and the verb argumentuluire in Teodor Corbea's dictionary.^[2]
• 1703 – Tiktin's first record.^[6]
• 1705 – argumentuí “to argue” in Cantemir.^[2]
• 1705 – argument glossed in the word list of Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[3]
• 1808 – argumentáție “argumentation” in Țichindeal.^[2]
• 1822 – argumentătoriu “arguer” in Bobb's dictionary.^[2]
• 1829 – the verb in its modern form argumentá, in Poteca.^[2]
• 1848 – the sense “summary of a book” in Negulici's dictionary.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of reasoning or a proof brought in support of a claim: un argument convingător “a convincing argument”.^[4][5]
2. (mathematics) The independent variable of a function.^[4][5]
3. (rare) A short summary of the content of a play or a literary work.^[5][9]
4. (computing) A value used as a key in sorting or searching a file.^[9]

Word family

• argumenta
• argumentator
• argumentație
• contraargument

Related words

• Latin argūmentum
• French argument

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. argument
3. ^ 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. argument
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 60
5. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 95
6. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. argument
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. argūmentum
8. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
9. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. argument