cerc

Forms

cerc n (plural cercuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin circus (“circle, ring”), and its modern senses were added after French cercle.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][1]} The Latin noun is probably from Ancient Greek κρίκος (kríkos, “ring”), also κίρκος (kírkos).^[8][1]

Megleno-Romanian țerc continues the same Latin word.^[3][9] The Aromanian tserclju is a different case: Ciorănescu derives it from Italian cerchio, and Pascu from Latin circulus.^[3][10][11] Ciorănescu and the REW compare Albanian qark, cerco, Spanish cerco and Portuguese cerco.^[3][7][12]

The DA names circ and țarc as doublets, and puts cercel, cearcăn, cerca and cerceta in the same family.^[13]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the articled cercul in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon of about 1660–1670, where it translates Old Church Slavonic обручь (obručĭ, “hoop”).^[14] DELR's first date is 1691–1697, and Tiktin's 1703.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The old and popular senses are objects bent into a ring: the hoop that binds the staves of a barrel, the iron tyre of a wheel, the bent rod of a fishing net, a diadem, a child's hoop.^[13][4] The verb cercui “to hoop (a barrel)” is recorded from 1652.^[2] A proverb plays on the barrel hoop: „Nici talpa casei cerc de bute, nici mojicul om de frunte” “a sill beam won't make a barrel hoop, nor a boor a leading man”.^[5][15]

The geometric circle, the ring of people around someone, and a social circle or club are the senses DELR attributes to the model of French cercle.^[2][3] Tiktin records cerc militar “officers' club” and cerc vicios “vicious circle”.^[5] A figurative sense, the range of one's knowledge or duties, is old and literary.^[2][16] In Transylvania cerc was also an administrative district, and its head was the cercual (1928), after German Kreishauptmann.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1660–1670 – cercul “the hoop” in a Slavonic–Romanian lexicon, the first record.^[14]
• 1691–1697 – cerc.^[2]
• 1703 – cerc.^[5]
• 1773 – cercuit “hooping”.^[2]
• 1822 – cercurar “hooper”.^[2]
• 1852 – barrel hoops in Codrescu's Uricariul.^[4][13]
• 1895 – the diminutive cerculeț.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A circle: the plane figure of all the points at the same distance from a centre, its circumference, or the surface it encloses: cerc polar “polar circle”.^[16][1]
2. A figure, line or movement in the shape of a circle: în cerc “in a circle”, cerc vicios “vicious circle”.^[16]
3. (figurative) The range, scope or limits of knowledge, duties or occupations.^[16][2]
4. A hoop: a band of metal or wood around a barrel, binding the staves, or strengthening a trunk or a wheel.^[16][4]
5. A group of people linked by common interests, kinship or friendship: a social circle, a club.^[2][3]

Word family

• cercui
• cercuit
• cercuitor
• cerculeț
• cercurar
• cercurel
• cercuriu
• cercușor
• încercui
• semicerc

Related words

• circ
• țarc
• cercel
• cearcăn
• Latin circus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. cerc
3. ^ a b c d e f 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. cerc
4. ^ 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, 362
5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. cerc
6. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 29
7. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1948
8. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 308
10. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 175
11. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 1037
12. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. cerc
13. ^ 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. cerc
14. ^ a b Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. cercul
15. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. cerc
16. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 171