Etymologically
Log in

bob

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word bob

bob1 bean; grain

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1421 personal name in a Slavonic charter
Borrowed from
Old Church Slavonic бобъ
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ-

Pronunciation

Forms

bob n (plural boabe)[1]

Etymology

The word for the bean is borrowed from Old Church Slavonic бобъ (bobŭ, “bean”), as DEX, DELR, MDA2 and Ciorănescu give it.[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary names Serbo-Croatian bȍb instead.[1] The Slavonic word, glossing Ancient Greek κύαμος (kúamos), is Proto-Slavic *bobъ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰabʰ- (“bean”), and is cognate with Latin faba, Albanian bathë and Ancient Greek φακός (phakós, “lentil”).[1][6] It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian bob and Megleno-Romanian bob, meaning “bean” there.[5][7] Capidan derives the Megleno-Romanian word from Bulgarian.[8] The Buda lexicon of 1825 derived it from the Latin word for the bean with /f/ changed to /b/, a view of its time.[9]

Ciorănescu thinks the neuter plural gave a new singular boabă, which coincides with Serbo-Croatian boba.[5] DELR gives both explanations, a singular rebuilt from the plural or a loan of the Serbo-Croatian word.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1421 as the personal name Bob.[3][10] As a common noun it appears in 1588.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The word names the plant Vicia faba, its seed and any grain of cereals or legumes.[2][3] From the grain came any small round thing: un bob de nisip, de sare “a grain of sand, of salt”, bob de mărgăritar “a pearl”.[10] After a negation it means “not a word, not a bit”: nu zise un bob, nu pricepe bob.[10][5] The masculine plural bobi is used for the 41 grains of maize or beans that fortune-tellers cast, in a da în bobi “to tell fortunes with beans”.[10][5][2] From this came bobar, recorded as a personal name in 1534, and bobăreasă “woman who tells fortunes with beans” (1831).[3] Ciorănescu also traces popic “skittle” to bobic and thinks a Spanish Romani word for the bean comes from Romanian.[5]

Timeline

  • 1421 – the personal name Bob, the first record.[3][10]
  • 1534 – the personal name Bobariu, from bobar “fortune-teller”.[3]
  • 1588 – bob as a common noun.[3][4]
  • 1643 – the diminutive bobiță in Varlaam's Cazania.[3]
  • c. 1650 – boambă and boboașă in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis.[3]
  • 1801 – bob “bean” in Klein's dictionary.[11]
  • 1813 – boabă in Petru Maior.[3]
  • 1831 – bobăreasă “fortune-teller”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (neuter, plural boabe) A grain, the seed of a cereal or a legume: un bob de grâu.[2][1]
  2. (neuter) Any small particle that looks like a grain: Avea un bob de nisip în ochi.[2][10]
  3. (masculine, plural bobi) The broad bean, Vicia faba, and its seed.[2][4][12]
  4. (masculine, plural bobi) A bean or grain of maize cast in fortune-telling: a da în bobi.[2][10]

Word family

  • boabă
  • boambă
  • bobar
  • bobăreasă
  • bobi
  • bobiță
  • bobișor
  • bobiște
  • popic

bob2 bobsleigh

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1926 Teodoreanu
Borrowed from
English bob
Ultimate origin
English bobsleigh
Etymology tree of bob2
inherited borrowed derived
English bob
Romanian bob

Pronunciation

Forms

bob n (plural boburi)[1]

Etymology

The word for the sled is borrowed from English bob, borrowed from French bob, a shortening of bobsleigh.[2][3][13][1] DN compares the English and French bobsleigh.[14] The English compound joins a word for a short sledge runner and sleigh.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Both bob and bobsleigh are first recorded in 1926, in Teodoreanu.[3]

Semantic evolution

It names both the steerable metal sled and the sport practised with it.[2][3] The athlete is a bober, recorded from 1964.[3]

Timeline

  • 1926 – bob and bobsleigh in Teodoreanu.[3]
  • 1964 – bober “bobsledder” in the press.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A bobsleigh: a metal racing sled with an extra pair of front runners steered by a wheel or by cables.[2][13]
  2. The sport practised with this sled: Echipa a câștigat o medalie la bob.[2][15]

Word family

  • bober
  • bobslei
  • Aromanian bob

Usage notes

DEX has a third bob, a tower hoist for building materials, of unknown origin.[2][4] DELR records it from 1958 and calls its origin uncertain, perhaps the trade name Bobcat or English bob “to move up and down”.[3] The bob haircut (tunsoare bob) is a later borrowing, after English bob cut and French coiffure bob.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 109
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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. bob
  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, 220
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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. bob
  6. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite
  7. ^ Saramandu, Nicolae (coord.) et al. (2010–), Dicționarul dialectului meglenoromân, general și etimologic, fascicles in Fonetică și dialectologie XXIX–
  8. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română
  9. ^ Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 59
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. bob
  11. ^ 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. 316
  12. ^ Panțu, Zach. C. (1929), Plantele cunoscute de poporul român. Vocabular botanic cuprinzând numirile române, franceze, germane și științifice, 2nd ed., București: Editura Casei Școalelor, p. 18
  13. ^ a b Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. bob
  14. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. bob
  15. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne
  16. ^ Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. bob

Related etymologies

  • spin · also from English
  • script · also from English
  • dolar · also from English
  • gol · also from English
  • club · also from English
  • cod · also from English
  • meci · also from English
  • șerif · also from English
Cite this entry

“Bob.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/bob. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·