armată

Forms

armată f (plural armate)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian armata, the noun use of the feminine participle of armare (“to arm”);^{[2][3][4][1][5]} DEX, MDA2, DER and Wiktionary give the Italian source.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} In DELR's view it may also be borrowed from Polish armata, itself from Medieval Latin, and Modern Greek αρμάτα (armáta), itself from Italian, and adds that the modern word may also have been formed on armă after French armée.^[5] The DA calls it a neologism shaped by French, and the neologism dictionaries name both the Italian and the French words.^[6][7] The Italian verb continues Latin armō (“to arm”), like Romanian arma.^[8]

Ciorănescu explains the old variants armadă and armadie through Modern Greek ἀρμάδα (armáda) and Serbo-Croatian armada.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Miron Costin's chronicle, dated by DELR and Tiktin to 1675.^[5][9] DELR notes that the old form armadă could also mean a war fleet.^[5] MDA2's first record is the Foletul novei, the calendar of Constantin Brâncoveanu, from 1693.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first named troops gathered for war under one commander, beside oaste and oștire; old texts wrote it armadie and armadă as well, and the Transylvanian popular form was armade.^[9][5][6] The DA's quotations from Maiorescu show the senses of troops at war and of the whole regular force of a country, and Tiktin records corp de armată “army corps”.^[6][9]

The DA observes that the word became popular, and that a face armată meant “to do one's military service”.^[6] Figuratively an armată is a large body of people acting together, or simply a crowd.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1675 – first record, in Miron Costin's chronicle.^[5][9]
• 1693 – armată in the Foletul novei calendar.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The army, the whole of a state's armed forces.^[2][1]
2. A large military unit made up of several corps; any military unit.^[2][3]
3. military service: A făcut armata la Constanța.^[2][3]
4. (figurative) A large group acting for a common aim; a crowd, a host: o armată de voluntari.^[2][7]

Related words

• armă
• armie
• armadă

Usage notes

MDA2 and the DA list a second armată that is a variant of harmată “cannon”;^[3][6][9] Tiktin quotes it from folk poetry, „Vom da cu armățile” “we will fire the cannons”.^[3][6][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. 62
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, 99
4. ^ 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. armă
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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. armă
6. ^ 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. armată
7. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ 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. armată