central

Forms

central m or n (feminine singular centrală, masculine plural centrali, feminine/neuter plural centrale)^[1]

Etymology

It is a neologism of the early 19th century, borrowed from Latin centrālis (“in the middle, central”), also borrowed from French central.^[2][1][3] The dictionaries weigh the two sources differently: Tiktin gives the Latin word and compares the French one,^[4] MDA2 names French alone,^[5] and the DN and MDN give French, Latin and also Italian centrale.^[6][7] DELR cites both, and records the Academy dictionary's view that the adjective was made in Romanian from centru.^[2] Wiktionary notes that it can be analysed as a formation with the suffix -al.^[1]

The Latin adjective is formed from centrum (“centre point”) with the suffix -ālis.^[8] The old variant chentral followed an old variant of the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the word to 1810, in the spelling țăntral, meaning “situated in the centre”.^[2] Tiktin's first record is of 1815.^[4] MDA2's first record is an anatomy manual by N. A. Krețulescu, printed in 1843,^[5] and Negulici's dictionary of neologisms explains it in 1848 as what lies in the centre or belongs to it.^[9]

Semantic evolution

From the literal sense “in the middle” the adjective came to mean “principal, most important” and “directed from a centre”, as in administrație centrală “central administration”.^[10][3] Scriban records the phrase foc central, the fire once thought to burn in the centre of the earth.^[11]

The feminine was made a noun, centrală, which DELR dates to 1928 and takes from French centrale.^[2] It names an institution that coordinates a branch of activity, a power or heating plant, and a telephone exchange.^[3][7] Compounds followed: electrocentrală “power station” (1946), termocentrală (1953).^[2]

Timeline

• 1810 – țăntral “situated in the centre”, the first record.^[2]
• 1815 – the record that opens Tiktin's article.^[4]
• c. 1832 – the derivative centraliza “to centralize”, from French.^[2]
• 1843 – central in Krețulescu's anatomy manual.^[5]
• 1848 – explained in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[9]
• 1928 – the noun centrală “coordinating institution; technical installation”.^[2]
• 1946 – electrocentrală “power station”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Situated (roughly) in the centre or in the middle; coming from a centre.^[3][5]
2. (figurative) Holding the principal position, forming the core around which secondary elements gather.^[3][6]
3. Run or directed from a centre: putere centrală “central government”.^[3][12]

Noun

1. (feminine, centrală) An institution or economic unit that coordinates and supervises a branch of activity.^[3][5]
2. (feminine, centrală) A set of technical installations where energy is produced or a process is run centrally: a power station, a heating plant.^[3][7]
3. (feminine, centrală) A telephone exchange.^[7]

Related words

• centru
• centraliza
• Latin centrālis

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. centru
3. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 169
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. centrál
5. ^ 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, 358
6. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. central
7. ^ a b c d Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. central
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. central
10. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 118
11. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 258
12. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. central