burete

Forms

burete m (plural bureți)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin bōlētus (“mushroom”), probably through a form *bōlētis, closer to Ancient Greek βωλίτης (bōlítēs).^[2][3][4][1] The Latin word comes from the Greek one.^[1] Another explanation, given by DEX and Candrea–Densusianu, takes the singular as rebuilt from the plural ⟨bureți⟩ of an older ⟨*buret⟩ from the Latin word.^[5][6]

The word survives in Aromanian bureate and Megleno-Romanian bureți.^[2][7] Its Romance cognates include Italian boleto, Occitan bolet and Catalan bolet.^[8][6] Pușcariu found the Romanian form nearer to the Greek than to the Latin.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is from a Slavonic–Romanian document of 1509.^[7][9] In a Romanian text the word is in Coresi's Tetraevanghel of 1574, as the sponge filled with vinegar: „și luo bureatele, împlu-l de oțet” “and he took the sponge and filled it with vinegar”.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word meant “mushroom”, and Romanian kept that sense as a general name for fungi, with many regional names for kinds such as burete-galben and burete-iute.^[8][3][5] The sea sponge, and the cleaning sponge made of its skeleton or later of rubber and plastic, are named after its porous body.^[7][4][5] The DA also records regional senses: a freckle, a swelling of the knee joint in cattle, and part of a wheel hub.^[4]

Of a heavy drinker one says suge ca un burete “he soaks it up like a sponge”.^[9] In the New Year carol, boys who are given nothing wish the house bureți pe păreți “mushrooms on the walls”.^[9]

Timeline

• 1509 – a Slavonic–Romanian document, the first record.^[7][9]
• 1574 – bureatele “the sponge” in Coresi's Tetraevanghel.^[4][3]
• 1691–1697 – the diminutive burecior and the adjective buretos “spongy” in Corbea's dictionary.^[7]
• 1887 – the diminutive burețel.^[7]
• 1968 – buretieră, a small box with a wet sponge for moistening stamps.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) A general name for mushrooms and other fungi.^[5][3][1]
2. A sea sponge, an animal of the Spongiaria; also called burete-de-mare.^[5][1]
3. A sponge for wiping and washing, made from the skeleton of this animal or from rubber or plastic.^[5][1]

Word family

• burecior
• buretieră
• buretos
• burețel

Related words

• Aromanian bureate
• Latin bōlētus

Usage notes

Doar n-am mâncat bureți! “I haven't eaten mushrooms, have I?” means “I haven't gone mad!”.^[5][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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. burete
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 262
4. ^ a b c d e 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. burete
5. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 126
6. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București
7. ^ a b c d e f g 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. burete
8. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1193
9. ^ 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. burete