arin

Forms

arin m (plural arini)^[1]

Etymology

It comes from alnus (“alder”), but the exact Latin form is disputed, and DELR calls the etymology uncertain.^[2] One view takes it as inherited from Latin alnīnus (“of alder”), recorded in the Lex Salica: /ln/ was assimilated to /nn/ and then /n/, which gives anin, and dissimilation then gave the present form.^[2][3] DELR names Meyer-Lübke, Hasdeu, Pușcariu's EWRS, the DA, Scriban, DEX and Loșonți (2015) for it.^[2] DEX gives *alnīnus as probable.^[4]

Candrea and later Pușcariu started instead from *alinus, a variant of the classical word, which gives the form stressed on the first syllable directly, and explained the forms with /n/ by assimilation;^[2] DELR notes that the Sardinian alinu can also be explained by a vowel inserted in Sardinian.^[2] DLRM gives the same form.^[5] Ciorănescu took the same starting point as DEX, with an intermediate *alīnus.^[2] Wiktionary follows this chain, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élsnos.^[1] MDA2 gives *alnius.^[6] Giuglea (1941–1943) proposed a southern Italian Greek word for the alder, itself from the Latin word.^[2]

The word survives south of the Danube: Aromanian arin, also anin, and Megleno-Romanian rin, “black alder”.^[2][7][8][9] De Vaan thinks the Italic, Baltic, Slavic and Germanic alder words may be an old loan from a non-Indo-European language.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the variant anin in a Slavonic–Romanian document of 1528.^[2] Tiktin's first record, from the same corpus, is of 1582.^[3] The derivative aniniș “alder wood” is recorded even earlier, as the place name Aniniș in 1392.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The tree is named in many forms: anin, ainin in Muntenia, anine in Oltenia and Banat, arine and arinde in Transylvania.^[3][6] Besides the tree, MDA2 records the senses “fruit of the alder”, “young shoots” and, in folk use, “young forest”.^[6] The species are told apart as arin negru (black alder, Alnus glutinosa), arin alb (grey alder, Alnus incana) and arin de munte (green alder, Alnus viridis).^[6][3] Neculce's chronicle has the plural arini.^[6] Eminescu's line „Dintre ramuri de arin / Melancolic cornul sună” “from among the alder branches the horn sounds sadly” is quoted for the word in DLRLC.^[11]

Timeline

• 1392 – the place name Aniniș, formed on anin.^[2]
• 1528 – anin in a Slavonic–Romanian document, the first record of the word.^[2]
• 1578 – the diminutive aninaș.^[2]
• 1582 – Tiktin's first record.^[3]
• 1870 – arinaș “black alder”.^[2]
• 1878 – ariniște “alder wood” in Eminescu.^[2]
• 1882 – arină “alder fruit; thicket” in Marian.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. alder: the name of several trees of the genus Alnus, with oval toothed leaves and greenish-red flowers in catkins, growing by mountain rivers and in damp lowland woods.^[4][6][1]
2. The fruit of the alder.^[6]
3. (popular) Young shoots; a young forest.^[6]

Word family

• arinaș
• arinet
• ariniș
• ariniște

Related words

• anin
• Aromanian arin
• Latin alnus

Usage notes

The variant anin is common, and the DA and Scriban put the word under it;^[12][13][4] DEX gives it as a variant.^[12][13][4]

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 n o p 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. arin
3. ^ 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. arin
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 62
5. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 42
6. ^ 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, 98
7. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 141
8. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 119
9. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 249
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 125
12. ^ a b 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. arin
13. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 121