cauciuc

Forms

cauciuc n (plural cauciucuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French caoutchouc.^[2][3][4][1] DEX and MDA2 also name borrowed from Russian каучук (kaučuk), and DELR names German Kautschuk, itself from French.^[5][6][3] Bulgarian каучук (kaučuk) came through Russian and German.^[7]

The French word was introduced in 1736 by La Condamine after his expedition to South America; like Spanish caucho (1653), it comes from an indigenous language of Peru that is hard to identify.^[8][3] Wiktionary derives it from an early variant Spanish cauchuc of the Spanish word, and that from Quechua kawchu.^[1] Scriban places the source language on the banks of the Amazon.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the word to 1851.^[3][4] The DA defines it as the thickened sap of certain trees of India and elsewhere, and records cauciuc vulcanizat “vulcanized rubber”, treated with sulphur so that heat does not spoil it.^[10]

Semantic evolution

From the material the word passed to the rubber tyres of vehicles: Scriban gives both, and a colloquial a te plimba în cauciuc “to ride in a rubber-tyred carriage”.^[9] The derived cauciucat “with rubber tyres” is in Ionel Teodoreanu's La Medeleni (1926), and the verb cauciuca “to coat with rubber” is dated 1924.^[10][6][3] Slang uses the word for a condom.^[11] The word has three syllables, ca-u-ciuc.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1851 – the first record.^[3][4]
• 1924 – the verb cauciuca.^[3]
• 1926 – cauciucat “with rubber tyres” in Teodoreanu's La Medeleni.^[10][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. rubber: an elastic, resistant material made from the latex of tropical trees or produced synthetically, used for tyres, elastic bands and tubes.^[5][1]
2. A tyre of a car, bicycle or other vehicle.^[5][1]
3. (slang) A condom.^[11]

Word family

• cauciuca

Related words

• gumă
• French caoutchouc

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. cauciuc
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. cauciuc
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. cauciuc
5. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 153
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, 312
7. ^ Georgiev, Vladimir I. et al. (eds.) (1971–), Bălgarski etimologičen rečnik, Sofija: Izdatelstvo na Bălgarskata akademija na naukite, p. 2, 281
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 240
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. cauciuc
11. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. cauciuc