cameră

Forms

cameră f (plural camere)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian camera, as Ciorănescu, Tiktin, the DA and DEX give it.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} In DELR it is also borrowed from Modern Greek κάμερα (kámera), a form of κάμαρα (kámara).^[7] Ciorănescu dates the Italian loan to the 19th century.^[2]

Several senses came later from other languages: the institution, the combustion chamber and the inner tube follow French chambre, and the camera for taking pictures follows French caméra, the English word camera and New Latin camera obscura.^[7] DEX names the English and French words for some senses, and MDA2 gives all three languages;^[5][8][1] Wiktionary treats the camera sense as a separate borrowing from English.^[5][8][1]

The word Latin camera meant “vault, arched roof” and later “room”; it is from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vault, vaulted room”).^[7][9][1] Its doublet is cămară (“pantry”), and Wiktionary and Gabinschi add comoară to the group.^[4][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin and DELR date the first record to 1780.^[3][7] MDA2's first record, from Macedonski's poems (“the dead room”), is much later.^[8][10]

Semantic evolution

The basic sense is a room of a dwelling, with phrases such as cameră de culcare “bedroom” and muzică de cameră “chamber music”.^[4][5] The DA already records a hall where judges or members of an institution deliberate, the institution itself (Camera de comerț “Chamber of Commerce”), and in parliamentary states the Camera Deputaților.^[4][3]

By analogy the word names hollows and closed spaces in technology: the cameră obscură, of which, the DA notes, a photographic camera is one; the chamber of a firearm; the combustion chamber.^[4][5] The motion-picture and television camera (cameră de luat vederi, cameră de televiziune) and the inner tube of a tyre follow French and English models.^[5][7] Derivatives and loans of its family are dated by DELR: camerier “valet” 1785, cameral “of the treasury” 1812, anticameră 1839, bicameral 1904, cameraman 1978 and videocameră 1982.^[7]

Timeline

• 1780 – the first record.^[3][7]
• 1785 – camerier “valet”.^[7]
• 1812 – cameral “of the treasury”.^[7]
• 1839 – anticameră “anteroom”.^[7]
• 1904 – bicameral “with two chambers”.^[7]
• 1965 – stereocameră “stereo camera”.^[7]
• 1978 – cameraman “camera operator”.^[7]
• 1982 – videocameră “video camera”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A room in a building: cameră mobilată “furnished room”, cameră de lucru “study”;^[5][8] muzică de cameră “chamber music”.^[5][8]
2. A room with a special purpose: cameră obscură “darkroom” and also a device forming an inverted image on a screen;^[5] cameră de comandă “control room”;^[5] cameră frigorifică “cold store”.^[5]
3. A space in which a technical process takes place, or a part of an apparatus, or the apparatus itself: cameră de combustie “combustion chamber”;^[5][7] camera cartușului “the chamber of a gun”;^[5][7] cameră de luat vederi and cameră de televiziune, a film or television camera.^[5][7]
4. An inner tube of a tyre; the bladder of a ball; by extension any container with stretchable walls filled with air under pressure.^[5][7]
5. (zoology) cameră paleală, the mantle cavity of a mollusc.^[5]
6. (law, politics) A chamber of a legislature: Camera Deputaților.^[5][2]

Word family

• anticameră
• bicameral
• cameral
• cameraman
• camerier
• cameristă
• monocameral
• unicameral
• videocameră

Related words

• cămară
• comoară
• Latin camera

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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. cameră
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. cámeră
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. cameră
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 137
6. ^ a b Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 74
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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. cameră
8. ^ a b c d e Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 282
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 321