brotac

Forms

brotac m (plural brotaci)^[1]

Etymology

For Ciorănescu it is inherited from Vulgar Latin *brotāchus, from Ancient Greek βροτάχος (brotákhos, “frog”), the Ionic form of βάτραχος (bátrakhos), following Pușcariu, Candrea–Densusianu, the REW and others.^[2][3][1] MDA2 also derives it from brotachus.^[4] DELR, however, places the word in the family of broatec, the older form, and derives it either from broatăc or broatec, or by back-formation from the diminutive brotăcel.^[5] For DELR the Latin form is the source of broatec.^[5] DEX also explains it as probably remade from the diminutive, on the model of pairs such as gândac and gândăcel.^[6][7]

It survives south of the Danube: Aromanian broatic (“tree frog”).^[8][9] Ciorănescu compares Albanian bretëk.^[2] Most Albanian scholarship now links the Albanian word directly with a Greek variant rather than with a Latin form, while Romanian studies still generally accept the Latin source.^[10] Ciorănescu also reports, after Capidan, that a Bulgarian name of the water plantain comes from the Romanian word.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 gives Dimitrie Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică (1704 in its bibliography) as the first record, with the sense “tree frog”.^[4] DELR dates the form brotac only from 1871, in Laurian and Massim's dictionary, under batrachu; the form broatăc is recorded already in 1592–1604.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word names the small green tree frog;^[6][4] Scriban notes that it is heard calling before rain.^[11] The same belief explains the regional variant buratic (Moldavia, Transylvania, Dobruja; 1844, Alecsandri), a blend with bură “drizzle”.^[5][2] Another blend, with broască, gave brostac (1795).^[5]

By analogy the word names a small block of wood: in the water mill it is the hollowed piece on which the end of a beam rests.^[12][4][13] It is also a short round piece put under a barrel or heavy furniture to move it more easily.^[14]

Timeline

• 1704 – first record, in Cantemir's Istoria ieroglifică.^[4]
• 1776 – the diminutive brotăcel, as a personal name.^[5]
• 1795 – the blend brostac.^[5]
• 1824 – brotan, with a different ending.^[5]
• 1844 – buratic in Alecsandri.^[5]
• 1871 – brotac and the collective brotăcime in Laurian and Massim's dictionary.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The European tree frog (Hyla arborea), a small green amphibian related to the frog; the same as broatec.^[6][4][1]
2. (milling) A piece of a water mill (a hollowed block that holds the end of a beam).^[4][12][13]
3. A short round block put under a heavy object to shift it.^[14]

Word family

• brotăcel
• brotăcime

Related words

• broatec
• broască
• Aromanian broatic

Usage notes

DEX and DLRM define the word by sending the reader to broatec, the main headword.^[6][15] MDA2 lists many regional variants, among them brătac, brutac, botrac, brotec and buratic.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. brotac
3. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1331
4. ^ 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, 249
5. ^ 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. broatec
6. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 120
7. ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
8. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 218
9. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 192
10. ^ Demiraj, Bardhyl (ed.), Digitales philologisch-etymologisches Wörterbuch des Albanischen, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
11. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 198
12. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 79
13. ^ a b Constantinescu, Grigore; Constantinescu, Eugenia (2014), Glosar. Arealul etnocultural Argeș-Muscel, p. 20
14. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. brotac
15. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 95