bănui

Forms

bănui (third-person singular present bănuiește, past participle bănuit), 4th conjugation^[1] DER records a variant băni.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hungarian bán (“to regret, to repent”).^[3][1] MDA2, DEX and the DA quote the Hungarian infinitive bánni, DER the first person bánom “I regret”.^[4][5][6][2] Tamás calls the Hungarian origin beyond doubt and finds Pușcariu's idea of Slavic mediation very unlikely.^[7] Hasdeu linked the verb to ban “money”, which Tamás rejects.^[7]

The Hungarian verb is recorded from 1372.^[8] Its first record is in a codex copied about 1448.^[8] The TESz calls it of unknown origin,^[8] and the ÚESz suggests an Old Turkic loan.^[9] From Hungarian it also passed into Slovak banovať and Ukrainian банувати (banuvaty).^[8][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR finds the first record in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century, with the sense “to grieve”.^[3] Tiktin dates it to 1602, MDA2 to the psalter of 1651, which has „Că-ș[i] cunoaște păcatele și-ș[i] bănuiaște de eale” “for he knows his sins and is sorry for them”.^[10][4][11]

Semantic evolution

The old senses were close to those of Hungarian: to regret, to grieve, to be cross with someone, to grumble, to envy.^[3][11][8] The Bucharest Bible of 1688 has the ruler of the synagogue bănuind, indignant that Jesus healed on the Sabbath, and Saul bănuind pre David, envying him.^[11] In Transylvania nu-mi bănuiesc “I don't mind” translates Hungarian nem bánom.^[6]

The standard senses today are “to suppose” and “to suspect”, while “to regret” and “to be cross” are regional, in Transylvania, Banat, Crișana, Maramureș and Moldova.^[5][11][12]

Timeline

• c. 1500–1520 – first record, “to grieve”, in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki;^[13] bănat “sorrow” appears in the same text.^[3]
• 1602 – bănui in a document, and bănuială “suspicion, reproach”.^[10][3]
• 1651 – „și-ș[i] bănuiaște de eale” “and he is sorry for them” in a psalter.^[4][11]
• 1688 – bănuind “being indignant” in the Bucharest Bible.^[11][13]
• 1691–1697 – bănuitor “suspicious” in Teodor Corbea's dictionary.^[3]
• 1801 – Klein glosses bănuiesc with Latin doleo “I grieve” and Hungarian bánom.^[14]
• 1862 – bănuielnic “suspicious” in Pontbriant.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To suppose, to sense something beforehand, to foresee a situation or a solution: Bănuiam că nu va veni.^[5][4]
2. To consider someone the author of a bad deed, to suspect: L-au bănuit de furt.^[5][1]
3. (regional) To be cross with someone, to reproach them.^[5][4]
4. (regional) To regret, to repent.^[5][12]

Word family

• bănuială
• bănuitor
• bănuielnic

Related words

• bănat
• Hungarian bán

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. bănui
3. ^ 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. bănui
4. ^ 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, 182
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. 95
6. ^ a b 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. bănui
7. ^ a b Tamás, Lajos (1966), Etymologisch-historisches Wörterbuch der ungarischen Elemente im Rumänischen, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 100
8. ^ a b c d e Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 236
9. ^ Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
10. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. bănuí
11. ^ a b c d e f Costinescu, Mariana; Georgescu, Magdalena; Zgraon, Florentina (1987), Dicționarul limbii române literare vechi (1640–1780): termeni regionali, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 66
12. ^ a b Ștef, Dorin (2011), Dicționar de regionalisme și arhaisme din Maramureș, Baia Mare: Ethnologica, p. s.v. bănui
13. ^ a b Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Lc 13:13
14. ^ Gáldi, László (ed.) (1944), Samuel Klein: Dictionarium valachico-latinum. Primul dicționar al limbii române, Budapest: Királyi Magyar Pázmány Péter Tudományegyetemi Román Intézet (Klein's dictionary of 1801, with Gáldi's etymological study), p. 310