benzină

Forms

benzină f (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French benzine,^{[2][3][4][5][1]} and DELR also gives German Benzin and, possibly, Italian benzina, which like the German word was also used for motor fuel.^[2] Tiktin gives the Italian word as the source.^[6]

The French word was borrowed from German.^[2][1] The German one was first the name of benzene: the chemist Eilhard Mitscherlich gave it in 1833 to the substance Faraday had discovered in 1825, basing it on Benzoe (“benzoin”) and New Latin benzoë, the resin it was made from.^[2] That word comes through French benjoin from Catalan benjuí, from an Arabic phrase meaning “incense of Java”, whose first syllable was dropped when it was taken for the article lo.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in a dictionary of 1853, and DELR's in the journal Transilvania in 1873.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

In French the word first meant benzene, then the hydrocarbon mixture sold as a solvent and stain remover.^[2] Romanian dictionaries of the early 20th century describe it the same way, as a volatile oil drawn from coal tar and used to take grease stains out of cloth.^[7][8] CADE 1931 adds its use to run motors, and that is now the main sense, the petroleum product burnt in car engines.^[9][3] The derivatives followed: dezbenzina “to strip petrol from natural gas” is recorded in 1959, and benzinărie “petrol station” only in 2012.^[2]

Timeline

• 1853 – first record, in a dictionary cited by Tiktin.^[6]
• 1873 – in the journal Transilvania.^[2]
• 1929 – defined as a stain remover drawn from coal tar.^[7]
• 1931 – CADE records its use as a motor fuel.^[9]
• 1959 – the derivative dezbenzinare.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. petrol, gasoline: a colourless, easily flammable liquid with a typical smell, a mixture of hydrocarbons made from crude oil or by synthesis, used mainly as fuel for engines and also as a solvent.^[3][4][1]

Word family

• benzinărie
• dezbenzina

Usage notes

DLRLC distinguishes benzină grea “heavy petrol”, for car engines, from benzină ușoară “light petrol”, for aircraft.^[10] DEXI records stație de benzină “petrol station” and the phrase a pune benzină pe foc “to add fuel to the fire”.^[11] Tiktin records an obsolete variant benzoi.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. benzină
3. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 100
4. ^ a b 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. ^ 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. benzină
6. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. benzină
7. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 62
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 164
9. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. benzină
10. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 228
11. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. benzină