avans

Forms

avans n (plural avansuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French avance (“lead, advance payment”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} The DA explains the French noun as the position of someone or something ahead of another, formed on the verb avancer (“to advance”).^[7] The verb goes back to Vulgar Latin *abantiō, from Late Latin abante (“before”), made of ab and ante.^[8] The Romanian verb avansa was borrowed separately, from the same French verb.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is from 1844, in the sense of a part of a sum paid in advance.^[2] Tiktin dates it to 1852, and MDA2 to Ion Ionescu's book on the farming of Dorohoi county (1866), where workers receive large advances on their work.^[6][5][7]

Semantic evolution

The financial sense came first and has stayed the main one.^[7][4] In the plural the word took the French sense of overtures, steps to win someone's friendship or love, which the DA marked as a Gallicism.^[7][4] The sense of a lead in time or distance and the technical avans la aprindere “ignition advance” are later.^[9][4]

Timeline

• 1844 – first record, an advance payment.^[2]
• 1852 – recorded by Tiktin.^[6]
• 1866 – in Ion Ionescu's work on Dorohoi county.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An advance: a sum paid before the work or service is done, or a part of a debt paid before it is due.^[4][5][1]
2. A face (cuiva) avansuri: to make overtures to someone, to seek their friendship or love by flattery or concessions.^[4]
3. A lead: the time or distance by which someone or something is ahead of another;^[4][9] în avans: ahead of time.^[4][9]

Related words

• avantaj

Usage notes

The plural is avansuri;^[7] avanse is rarer.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. avansa
3. ^ a b 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. avans
4. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 80
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 144
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. avans
7. ^ 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. avans
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. avancer
9. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. avans