aterizare

Forms

aterizare f (plural aterizări)^[1] MDA2 records a variant aterisare, matching the verb's variant aterisa.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian ateriza + -re, the long infinitive of the verb.^[1][2][3] The verb was made after atterrir: DEX writes “after French”, Wiktionary calls it a calque built a- + Terra + -iza, and Ciorănescu notes the ending ⟨-iza⟩ that many new verbs took, as in simboliza from French symboliser.^[4][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is in Constantinescu's encyclopedia of technical inventions (1939), in the sense of an aircraft coming down and stopping on the ground; the verb is first recorded the same year, in Otilia Cazimir's poems.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From aviation the word spread to sport, for touching the ground after a jump or at the end of a gymnastics exercise.^[3][6] In seamen's language it means a ship's landfall and also plotting on the chart the point where a ship will reach the coast.^[2][7] Figuratively it is used of a person who turns up unexpectedly.^[2]

Timeline

• 1939 – first records of the noun (a technical encyclopedia) and of the verb ateriza (Otilia Cazimir).^[2]
• 1955–1957 – the DLRLC defines it as the action of landing.^[8]
• 1986 – the DN gives the sports sense and the phrase tren de aterizare.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. landing: the action of an aircraft coming down and stopping on the ground; a synonym of aterizaj: Avionul a făcut o aterizare forțată.^[3][2]
2. (sport) Touching the ground as the last phase of a jump or of a gymnastics exercise.^[3]
3. (nautical) A ship's landfall; plotting on the chart the point where it will reach the shore.^[2][7]
4. (figurative) An unexpected arrival of a person.^[2]

Related words

• aterizaj
• French atterrir

Usage notes

Tren de aterizare is the landing gear, the two or three wheels on which an aircraft runs on the ground.^[2][6]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 122
3. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 72
4. ^ DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 71
5. ^ 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. ateriza
6. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. aterizare
7. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. aterizare
8. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 157