bebeluș

Forms

bebeluș m (plural bebeluși)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian bebe + -ăluș, a diminutive of the word for a baby.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary divides it differently, with the suffix -luș.^[1] The base is from French bébé, a word of French nursery language, first recorded in Romanian in 1881.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in Eminescu's writings of 1882, a year after the first record of bebe.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word keeps its first sense, a child in its first months.^[2] MDA2 also records an ironic figurative use for an inexperienced young man, compared with boboc “freshman”.^[3]

Timeline

• 1881 – the base bebe, in Eminescu.^[4]
• 1882 – bebeluș, in Eminescu.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A baby, an infant in its first months of life.^[2][5][1]
2. (figurative, ironic) An inexperienced young man.^[3]

Related words

• bebe

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 98
3. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 193
4. ^ 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. bebe
5. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. bebeluș