Etymology and origin of the Romanian word brâncă
brâncă1 erysipelas, swine disease
- Confidence
- Disputed
- First attested
- 1750–1800 a charm text of the second half of the 18th century
Pronunciation
- /ˈbrɨn.kə/[1]
Forms
brâncă f (plural brânci)[1]
Etymology
The word for the disease is of uncertain origin, and DEX gives it as unknown.[2][3][1] DELR thinks it probably a substrate word and compares Albanian brengë (“swelling, sore, diphtheria; swelling on the neck of pigs and cattle”), which may come from an older *brenkë; Çabej takes the Albanian word as native.[2]
Other views: Ciorănescu, Tiktin and Scriban derive it from Ancient Greek βράγχος (bránkhos, “hoarseness, sore throat; a disease of swine”).[4][5][6] The DA connects it with Serbo-Croatian brnka (“erysipelas”), from the Slavic verb Proto-Slavic *bręknǫti (“to swell”).[2] DELR and Ciorănescu reply that the Serbo-Croatian word cannot come straight from that root and is rather a loan from Romanian;[3] Skok thought the Romanian word might be an abstract noun of the Slavic verb.[2][4] Laurian and Massim took it to be the same word as brâncă2 “hand”.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
DELR's first record is a charm text of the second half of the 18th century, with the disease sense.[2] Tiktin's is from 1802.[5]
Semantic evolution
The word names a grave disease of pigs and cattle, with swelling of the neck or head and loss of appetite, and in people the inflamed red skin of erysipelas.[2][3] Tiktin gives “erysipelas” as the Wallachian sense, where Moldavia says orbalț, and notes its use as an insult for pigs.[5] The plant Salicornia herbacea took the name because it was the cure given to sick pigs.[2][7] Several plants used against it are named brânca-porcului and brânca-ursului.[3] In charms the disease is also called brâncoaică and brâncoi.[2]
Timeline
- second half of the 18th century – the disease, in a charm text, the first record.[2]
- 1802 – Tiktin's first record.[5]
- 1885 – brâncariță, the plant Salicornia herbacea.[2]
- 1892 – brâncoaică in a charm.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- A contagious disease of swine, with loss of appetite and violet spots on the skin.[3][7]
- (popular) erysipelas.[3][1]
- Salicornia herbacea, a leafless plant of salty soils with greenish flowers in spikes, used in veterinary medicine; glasswort.[3][7][1]
- A fungus with a spread, turned-back cap covered with stiff hairs (Stereum hirsutum).[3][7]
Word family
- brâncariță
- brânca-porcului
- brânca-ursului
brâncă2 hand, paw; shove
Etymology tree of brâncă2
Pronunciation
- /ˈbrɨn.kə/[1]
Forms
brâncă f (plural brânci)[1]
Etymology
The word for the hand is inherited from Late Latin branca (“paw”).[2][4][3][1] DELR notes that Latin borrowed it, since it is attested only from the 6th century, and that its origin is unclear;[1] Wiktionary mentions a possible Gaulish source.[2][1] The Latin word is pan-Romance: Italian branca (“claw, paw”), French branche (“branch”) and Spanish branca.[4][8]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first record is a personal name of 1579; as a common noun it appears in 1582, in the Palia de la Orăștie.[2]
Semantic evolution
Old texts use it for the paw of a beast: Dosoftei tells how a lion dug a grave for a saint with its forepaws, „cu brâncile dedinainte”.[5][9] Dosoftei also uses it for an iron claw used for torture.[5][9] In the western dialects, above all in Crișana, it means the human hand.[2][4]
In the standard language it lives on mainly in phrases: pe brânci “on all fours”, a cădea în brânci “to fall exhausted” and a munci pe brânci “to work oneself to the bone”.[3][2] From a da brânci “to push with the hands”, recorded from 1686 in Dosoftei, came the noun brânci “shove” (1871).[2] The verb îmbrânci “to shove” is formed on it.[4][10]
Timeline
- 1579 – a personal name, the first record.[2]
- 1582 – the common noun in the Palia de la Orăștie.[2]
- 1620 – Tiktin's first record.[5]
- 1686 – a da brânci “to push” in Dosoftei.[2]
- 1871 – the noun brânci “shove”.[2]
- 1884 – brânciș “on all fours”.[2]
Meanings
Noun
- (regional; in the standard language only in phrases) hand;[3][7] pe (or în) brânci “on all fours”;[3][7] a cădea în brânci “to drop from exhaustion”;[3][7] a munci pe brânci “to work oneself to exhaustion”.[3][7]
- (popular, in the form brânci) A shove or push;[3] a-i da inima brânci “to feel an urge to do something”.[3]
- (regional) The lower part of an animal's leg; a paw.[3][7][1]
Word family
- brânci
- îmbrânci
- brânciș
- brânculiță
- brâncuță
- îmbrânceală
- îmbrâncitură
Related words
- Latin branca
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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. brâncă
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 117
- ^ 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. brîncă
- ^ 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. brâncă
- ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 196
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 243
- ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1271
- ^ a b Costinescu, Mariana; Georgescu, Magdalena; Zgraon, Florentina (1987), Dicționarul limbii române literare vechi (1640–1780): termeni regionali, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 1, 82
- ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 23
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Brâncă.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/br%C3%A2nc%C4%83. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.
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