căldură

Forms

căldură f (plural călduri)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *caldūra (“heat”), from Latin caldus (“warm”), the shorter form of calidus.^[2][3][1] Ciorănescu notes that Italian caldura and the Occitan form confirm the Latin word.^[2][4] DELR adds Densusianu's view, a crossing of *calūra (from caleō (“to be warm”)) with the adjective.^[3] Wiktionary notes that it can also be analysed as cald with the suffix -ură.^[1]

Aromanian căldură has the same senses, “heat” and “fever”.^[5][6] Ciorănescu also compares scălda.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to about 1500.^[3] The Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century has the plural căldurile in Psalm 18:7.^[7][8] MDA2 cites the Codicele Voronețean: „O năpârcă din căldură ieși” “a viper came out because of the heat”.^[9][10]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is the warmth of a body or of the air; in the plural it means hot weather or the hottest time of the year.^[10][11] In the body it became “fever” (are căldură “he has a temperature”), and in animals the plural names the season of heat.^[11][8] Figuratively it means ardour, as early as a manuscript of 1654, and later warmth of feeling: a primi cu căldură “to welcome warmly”.^[8][12] Physics made it a technical term (căldură specifică “specific heat”).^[11] In thieves' slang it means the inside pocket of a coat.^[13]

Derivatives are călduros “warm”, recorded from 1636, and the diminutive căldurică from 1890.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1500 – the first record, according to DELR.^[3]
• early 16th century – căldurile in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki.^[7]
• c. 1563–1583 – din căldură in the Codicele Voronețean.^[9][10]
• 1636 – călduros “warm”.^[3]
• 1654 – the figurative sense “ardour”, in a manuscript.^[8]
• 1890 – the diminutive căldurică.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. heat, warmth: the state or degree of warmth of a body; a high temperature: Afară e o căldură mare. “It is very hot outside.”^[11][9][1]
2. (physics) The quantity of energy transferred between systems without mechanical work; the branch of physics studying it.^[11]
3. (in the plural) Hot weather, the hot season.^[11][9]
4. (in the plural) fever, a raised body temperature.^[11][14]
5. (figurative) ardour, passion; affection, friendliness.^[11][15]
6. (in the plural) The period of the sexual cycle in which female animals seek to mate.^[11]

Word family

• călduros

Related words

• călduț
• cald
• scălda

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. căldură
3. ^ 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. cald
4. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1505
5. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 260
6. ^ 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, 56
7. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 18:7
8. ^ 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. căldură
9. ^ 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, 320
10. ^ a b c 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. căldură
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 157
12. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 245
13. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. căldură
14. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 125
15. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. căldură