calma

Forms

a calma (third-person singular present calmează, past participle calmat) 1st conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French calmer (“to calm”), as DELR, Tiktin, DEX and Wiktionary agree.^[2][3][4][1] The neologism dictionary of Marcu and Maneca compares Italian calmare too.^[5] The French verb is formed on calme (“calm”), or perhaps taken from the Italian verb.^[1] DELR lists the verb in the family of the adjective calm, itself from French, although the verb is recorded earlier.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1794, three decades before the adjective calm (1825).^[2][3] MDA2's first record is much later, the Academy dictionary of 1913.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept the sense of its French model, “to make or become calm”, used both transitively and reflexively.^[3][4] DELR records the related calmant “soothing; sedative”, taken from French calmant, from 1849.^[2]

Timeline

• 1794 – the first record of calma.^[2][3]
• 1825 – the adjective calm.^[2]
• 1849 – calmant “sedative”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To calm, soothe, quieten; to ease a pain.^[4][7][1]
2. (reflexive, se calma) To calm down, settle down.^[4][1]

Related words

• calm
• calmant

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. calm
3. ^ 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. calma
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 135
5. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. calma
6. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 280
7. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 319