ceros

Forms

ceros m or n (feminine singular ceroasă, masculine plural ceroși, feminine/neuter plural ceroase)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian ceară + -os, “full of wax”.^[2][3][4][1] Wiktionary compares Latin cērōsus (“full of wax”), Italian ceroso and French cireux, which have the same make-up, but the Romanian dictionaries treat the word as a native formation.^[1][2] DELR lists it in the family of ceară.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1871.^[5] MDA2 cites it only from the Academy dictionary, in the volume for C of 1940.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The senses have stayed close to the base: containing wax, rich in wax, and like wax in look or texture.^[3][6] Barcianu's dictionary of 1886 glosses it with German wachsartig “waxlike”.^[7]

Timeline

• 1871 – first record.^[5]
• 1886 – in Barcianu's Romanian–German dictionary.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Full of wax; containing much wax.^[2][3][1]
2. Like wax in appearance or texture, waxy;^[2][6][8] substanță ceroasă “a waxy substance”.^[2][6][8]

Related words

• ceară
• Latin cērōsus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 173
3. ^ 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, 366
4. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 135
5. ^ a b c 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. ceros
6. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. ceros
7. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 97
8. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 396