cabină

Forms

cabină f (plural cabine)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French cabine.^[2][3][4][5] DN also names Italian cabina and compares English cabin.^[6]

DELR traces the French word, probably, to Middle English cabin, itself from Old French cabane.^[2] DHLF records it from 1364 in Old Picard and calls it obscure: it is closely tied to cabane, and may have been borrowed back from English, which had taken the word from French.^[7] Wiktionary makes it a doublet of cabană.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1846, in C. A. Rosetti, with the sense “small room”.^[2] Tiktin's first record is in Polizu's dictionary of 1857.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Early dictionaries define it as a small room on a ship, and the DA quotes Dunăreanu's sailor who goes down into his cabin.^[8][9] By extension it named any small room set apart in a larger building: a bathing cabin, a telephone booth.^[9][8]

Today it is any small room fitted out for a purpose, in a building, a vehicle or on a beach: cabină telefonică “telephone booth”, cabină de proiecție “projection booth”, and for a spacecraft cabină spațială.^[4][10] Romanian took cabinier “cabin attendant” from French in 1890, and telecabină “cable car” from French and Italian in 1966.^[2]

Timeline

• 1846 – cabină “small room”, the first record.^[2]
• 1857 – in Polizu's dictionary.^[5]
• 1890 – cabinier “cabin attendant”.^[2]
• 1927 – cabinieră, the feminine.^[2]
• 1966 – telecabină “cable car” and semicabină.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cabin: a small room on board a ship or aircraft.^[6][1]
2. A small room fitted out for a special purpose in a building, a vehicle or on a beach; a booth: cabină telefonică, cabină de proiecție.^[4]
3. The compartment of a spacecraft in which the astronauts travel.^[10]

Word family

• cabinier
• semicabină
• telecabină

Related words

• cabană

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. cabină
3. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 271
4. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 130
5. ^ 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. cabínă
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. cabină
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 213
9. ^ a b 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. cabină
10. ^ a b Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. cabină