buton

Forms

buton n (plural butoane)^[1] As a masculine noun with the plural butoni it names the cufflink; the neuter plural butoane goes with the push button.^[2] An old variant boton is also recorded;^[3][4] Scriban links it to Italian bottone.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bouton.^{[3][2][5][6][7][1]} The French word properly means “bud”; it is derived from bouter (“to sprout”), probably a specialised use of the same verb in its sense “to push, strike”.^[3][8] Wiktionary traces the verb through Old French to a Frankish word for a knob or bump that pushes up.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in Cezar Bolliac in 1835, in the old sense “button of a garment”.^[3] Tiktin's first date is 1856.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was a button of a garment, then a detachable stud for the collar and cuffs of a shirt.^[3][4][9] From the shape came the bell push, already in CADE (1931), and then any small knob or disc that is pressed or turned to make an electrical contact or start a mechanical action, the main sense today.^[10][2] Other senses taken from French are the ball on the tip of a fencing foil and a small pimple.^[3][11] The derived verb butona gained in 1992 the sense “to press the keys of a keyboard, phone or remote control”.^[3]

Timeline

• 1835 – first record, in Bolliac.^[3]
• 1845 – butonieră “buttonhole”, from French.^[3]
• 1856 – the first record Tiktin cites.^[6]
• 1870 – the verb butona “to button up”, from French boutonner, in Costinescu's dictionary.^[3]
• 1886-1889 – butonat “buttoned up; reserved” in Eminescu's Scrisoarea a V-a.^[3]
• 1931 – CADE records the button of an electric bell.^[10]
• 1992 – butona “to press keys”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (neuter, plural butoane) A small knob or disc that is pressed or turned to make an electrical contact or a mechanical action; a push button, a switch; a crank pin.^[2][5][1]
2. (masculine, plural butoni) A detachable stud of metal or mother-of-pearl used to fasten collars and cuffs, a cufflink; a snap fastener.^[2][5]
3. The small ball on the tip of a fencing foil that makes it harmless.^[3]
4. A small pimple on the skin.^[7][5]

Word family

• butona
• butonare
• butonieră
• butonat
• debutona

Related words

• nasture

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 128
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. buton
4. ^ a b c Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 211
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 268
6. ^ 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. butón
7. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. buton
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 87
10. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. buton
11. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. buton