artificial

Forms

artificial m or n (feminine singular artificială, masculine plural artificiali, feminine/neuter plural artificiale)^[1] An older variant is artifițial.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French artificiel, with Latin artificiālis as a second source.^[3][2][5][1] Tiktin and the DA give only the Latin word, and the Marcu–Maneca dictionary also compares Italian artificiale.^[4][6][7] The Latin adjective, “belonging to art”, is formed on artificium (“craft, skill”) with the suffix -ālis.^[8][1] DELR treats it in the family of artificiu, and in Romanian it can be read as that noun with the suffix -al.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is from Petru Maior in 1813, in the form artificiale.^[3] Tiktin also dates it 1813.^[4] Negulici's vocabulary of 1848 defines it as “made by the rules of art, not by nature”.^[9] MDA2 cites the Uricariul of 1859, where două terase artificiale are “two man-made terraces”.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is “made by human hand” in contrast to nature, as in flori artificiale “artificial flowers”.^[6][10] By extension it was said of things lacking the spontaneity of what is natural, and of people and feelings, “feigned, insincere”.^[6][5] The sense “arbitrary”, as in clasificare artificială, is mostly used adverbially.^[5] The family grew in the same decades: artificios from 1834–1835, artificier from 1839, artificialmente from 1852 and artificialitate from 1873.^[3]

Timeline

• 1813 – artificiale in Petru Maior.^[3][4]
• 1834–1835 – artificios in Murgu.^[3]
• 1848 – in Negulici's vocabulary.^[9]
• 1852 – the adverb artificialmente.^[3]
• 1859 – terase artificiale in the Uricariul.^[2][6]
• 1873 – artificialitate in Hasdeu.^[3]
• 1904 – artificializa in Chendi.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. artificial: made by people in imitation of something natural, not natural.^[5][2][1]
2. Insincere, feigned, forced: un zâmbet artificial.^[5][11]
3. Made by subjective, arbitrary criteria, often used as an adverb: clasificare artificială.^[5]

Word family

• artificialitate
• artificializa

Related words

• artificiu
• artificios
• artă

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 104
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. artificiu
4. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. artificial
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 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. artificial
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 126
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne