bomboană

Forms

bomboană f (plural bomboane)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bonbon (“sweet, candy”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French word is a reduplication of bon (“good”) typical of children's speech, and that adjective comes from Latin bonus (“good”).^[2][1] Marcu and Maneca explain the Romanian feminine as a new singular formed on ⟨bomboane⟩, the plural of an older neuter bombon.^[6] Ciorănescu and Marcu and Maneca record the old variant ⟨bombon⟩, also spelled ⟨bonbon⟩.^[3][6]

In Transylvania the word is bomboanță, recorded from 1888;^[2][7] DELR, following Pușcariu, derives it from German Bonbons, a plural, which gave a plural ⟨*bomboanse⟩ and then ⟨bomboanțe⟩ with an inserted /t/.^[2][7] Its Brașov variants ⟨boboanță⟩ and ⟨borboanță⟩ show the influence of bob and, DELR suggests, of borboană.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to about 1832, in I. Golescu's Condica, with the sense of a small sweet made by a confectioner.^[2][5] MDA2's first record is later, from Negruzzi's plays, printed in 1872: „Vom mânca... și confete și bomboane” “we will eat... both comfits and bonbons”.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

The word kept its sense of a small confection of flavoured sugar syrup or chocolate.^[4][2] Scriban glossed it with the older words cofeturi and acadea.^[9] In familiar speech it is applied to a sweet child or a charming thing, and to a very obliging person.^[8][10]

Phrases built on it are ironic: (ultima) bomboană pe colivă, the sweet on top of the funeral wheat, is a piece of bad news that crowns a run of misfortunes.^[8][11] Bomboane agricole “farm sweets” is a jocular name for sunflower or pumpkin seeds.^[11]

The family grew with other French words: bombonieră “sweet box” from French bonbonnière in 1848, bombonerie “sweet shop; confectionery industry” from bonbonnerie in 1934, and the diminutive bombonică, first as a personal name in 1885.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1832 – bomboană, the first record, in I. Golescu's Condica.^[2][5]
• 1848 – bombonieră “sweet box” in Alecsandri.^[2]
• 1872 – bomboane in Negruzzi's plays.^[8][7]
• 1885 – Bombonica as a personal name.^[2]
• 1888 – the Transylvanian bomboanță.^[2]
• 1934 – bombonerie “sweet shop” in Arghezi.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sweet, a candy or bonbon: a small confection of flavoured sugar syrup, chocolate and the like, in many shapes and colours: o cutie de bomboane.^[4][8][1]
2. (colloquial, figurative) A sweet child or a charming thing; also a very obliging person: Ce bomboană de cățel!.^[8][12]
3. (ultima) bomboană pe colivă: (figurative) a last piece of bad news, a final blow added to a difficult situation.^[8][11]

Word family

• bombonerie
• bombonică
• bombonieră

Related words

• French bonbon

Usage notes

A separate, regional bomboană, recorded in 1835 in Gorjan's translation of the Halima, is a variant of boboană: „Zise niște bomboane fermecătorești” “he said some magic bomboane”; the DA and MDA2 explain it as a blend of boboană and bombăni “to mumble”.^[8][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. bomboană
3. ^ 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. bomboană
4. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 112
5. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. bomboánă
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. bomboană
7. ^ a b c d e f 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. bomboană
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 229
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 187
10. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 262
11. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. bomboánă
12. ^ Dima, Eugenia (coord.) (2007), Dicționar explicativ ilustrat al limbii române, Chișinău: Arc / Gunivas, p. s.v. bomboană