avertisment

Forms

avertisment n (plural avertismente)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French avertissement (“warning”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} The French noun is formed on avertir (“to warn”) with the suffix -ment.^[1] Graur traces the French verb to Latin advertō (“to turn one's attention to”), a compound of vertō (“to turn”).^[8] DELR places the noun in the family of the verb avertiza, which Graur also takes from the same French verb.^[2][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1860, in the sense of an official warning.^[4] DELR's first record is the Penal Code of 1864, where it is a legal notice that an offender will be punished if he offends again.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 1860s the word belonged to administration and law: a warning from an authority, a reprimand.^[2][7] Maiorescu used it in a parliamentary speech of 1866 about negligent professors: „Să le dăm avertismente, ca la băieții din școală?” “Shall we give them warnings, as to schoolboys?”^[7][3] Two specialized uses are now obsolete: a notice to pay one's taxes, and an order to a newspaper to stop printing certain articles on pain of suspension.^[3][7] The general sense “prior warning, signal of a danger” and the sports sense, a caution given by the referee, are recorded in the 20th-century dictionaries.^[9][5]

Timeline

• 1860 – first record.^[4]
• 1864 – a legal warning to an offender in the Penal Code.^[2]
• 1866 – Maiorescu: „Să le dăm avertismente”.^[7][3]
• 1893 – in Damé's Romanian–French dictionary.^[10]
• 1931 – CADE gives the senses “forewarning” and “official reprimand”.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. A warning: advance notice of a risk or danger, a signal.^[5][1]
2. An administrative sanction for a disciplinary offence, warning that the next one will be punished more severely: a da cuiva un avertisment “to warn someone not to repeat a fault”.^[5][3]
3. (sports) A caution given by the referee to a player for foul play, a booking.^[5][1]
4. (obsolete) A notice to pay taxes; an official order to a newspaper to stop printing certain articles.^[3]

Related words

• avertiza
• avertizor

Usage notes

Scriban also records the spelling avertizment.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. avertiza
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 146
4. ^ 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. avertismént
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 81
6. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. avertisment
7. ^ 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. avertisment
8. ^ a b Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 105
9. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 177
10. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État
11. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească
12. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 141