categoric

Forms

categoric m or n (feminine singular categorică, masculine plural categorici, feminine/neuter plural categorice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French catégorique, with Latin categoricus as a second model, as DELR, DEX 2009 and Wiktionary give it.^[2][3][1] Tiktin names the Greek and Latin word and French.^[4] An older categoricesc (1825) was taken from Modern Greek κατηγορικός (katigorikós), with ⟨e⟩ after categorie.^[2]

The Latin word renders Ancient Greek κατηγορικός (katēgorikós),^[5] which belongs with κατηγορία (katēgoría, “accusation; predication”), from κατηγορέω (katēgoréō, “to accuse, to assert”), made of κατά (katá) and ἀγορεύω (agoreúō, “to speak in public”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin and DELR date the first record to 1829, in Poteca.^[4][2] DELR's first sense is the term of logic: a judgement that assigns a predicate without condition, as opposed to hypothetical and disjunctive ones.^[2] MDA2's first record is Ion Ghica's Scrisori of 1887.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sense “beyond doubt, without condition” grew from the logical term.^[2] Costinescu (1870) explains categoric as “by right reason, in order; clear, decided”.^[7] Scriban gives Kant's imperativ categoric, a rule that binds the will as an absolute command.^[8] Today the word is used most often as an adverb, “flatly, definitely”: a refuzat categoric.^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1825 – categoricesc, from Modern Greek.^[2]
• 1829 – categoric in Poteca, the first record.^[4][2]
• 1870 – categoricu “clear, decided” in Costinescu's dictionary.^[7]
• 1871 – the adverb categoricește.^[2]
• 1887 – categoric in Ion Ghica's Scrisori.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (often used as an adverb) Without conditions or alternatives; firm, decided, unconditional: un refuz categoric.^[3][6]
2. Clear, plain.^[3]
3. (logic) Judecată categorică: a judgement that affirms or denies a sure, unconditional relation between a subject and a predicate.^[3][6]

Related words

• categorie
• categoricesc
• French catégorique
• Latin categoricus

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. categorie
3. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 152
4. ^ 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. categoric
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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, 309
7. ^ a b Costinescu, Ion (1870), Vocabularu romano-francesu, 2 vols., Bucuresci, p. 1, 169
8. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 239
9. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. categoric