benjamin

Forms

benjamin m (plural benjamini)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French benjamin,^[2][3][4][1] the common noun made from the name French Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob in the Bible and his favourite.^[2][5] In French the proper name came into use as a common noun in the early 18th century.^[5] DEXI compares the Romanian form of the biblical name, Veniamin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in the newspaper ⟨Timpul⟩ of 1878, in the sense “the youngest child of a family; a favourite child”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In French the word first meant a parent's favourite child or a teacher's favourite pupil; from 1808 on it meant the youngest child of a family, often the most indulged; by extension, the youngest member of a group.^[5] Romanian dictionaries record both senses: the DN of 1986 defines it as a beloved, spoiled child, usually the youngest,^[7] and DEX as the youngest child of a family or the youngest member of a group.^[3] It is a rare and bookish word.^[3][8][4]

Timeline

• 1878 – the first record, in ⟨Timpul⟩.^[2]
• 1998 – the second edition of DEX, MDA2's first record.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare, literary) The youngest child of a family, often the favourite.^[3][6]
2. (rare, literary) The youngest member of a group.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. benjamin
3. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 99
4. ^ 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, 197
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. benjamin
7. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. benjamin
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan” (1998), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române, 2nd ed., București: Univers Enciclopedic, p. 94