cheltuială

Forms

cheltuială f (plural cheltuieli)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian cheltui + -eală, from the verb cheltui “to spend” with the suffix of nouns of action.^{[2][3][1][4][5]} The verb is from Hungarian költ (“to spend”).^[6][7] Tamás rejects Pușcariu's idea that it came through Slavic.^[7] The Academy dictionary compares the older noun chelșug, from Hungarian költség.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in Coresi's Cazania of 1564;^[8] DELR dates it 1581,^[6] and MDA2 to the Palia de la Orăștie (1582), where expenses are written down: „Le-au scris în cheltuială multă”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From the start it meant both spending and the money spent; the Pravila of 1646 uses it for the costs a murderer must repay to the victim's family.^[4] Older texts give it the senses “tax”, “provisions” and the trimming of a garment, haină cu cheltuieli de mătase “a coat with silk trimmings”.^[2][5][9] The Lexicon de la Buda (1825) gives it the sense “fine flour”.^[10][4] Idioms grew around it: bani de cheltuială “pocket money”, the jocular a da cuiva de cheltuială “to give someone a beating”, and the proverb obrazul subțire cu cheltuială se ține “a fine face is kept up at a cost”.^[8][3] In accounting the plural names the column of sums spent.^[3]

Timeline

• 1564 – in Coresi's Cazania.^[8]
• 1581 – DELR's first record.^[6]
• 1582 – cheltuială in the Palia de la Orăștie.^[2]
• 1642 – chiltuiala in a Câmpulung text.^[4]
• 1688 – three times in the Bucharest Bible.^[11]
• 1825 – “fine flour” in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[10]
• 1826 – the adjective cheltuielnic “spendthrift”.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of spending; the money spent, an expense.^[3][2]
2. (plural) cheltuieli de judecată: legal costs that the losing party must pay to the winner.^[3]
3. The use of material means, work or energy to meet needs or duties.^[3]
4. (accounting, plural) The column of a register where the sums spent are entered.^[3]

Related words

• cheltui
• chelșug

Usage notes

Common phrases: cu cheltuiala cuiva “at someone's expense”, bani de cheltuială “money for daily expenses”, a băga pe cineva la cheltuială “to put someone to great expense”.^[3] The old texts also have the variants cheltăială and chiltuială and the plural cheltuiele.^[6][2][8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 372
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. 176
4. ^ a b c d e f 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. cheltuială
5. ^ a b 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. cheltui
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. cheltui
7. ^ a b Tamás, Lajos (1966), Etymologisch-historisches Wörterbuch der ungarischen Elemente im Rumänischen, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 196
8. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. cheltuiálă
9. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 264
10. ^ a b Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 113
11. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Acts 22:28