ciorap

Forms

ciorap m (plural ciorapi)^[1] Variants are ceráp, ciorép, cirép and gioráp.^[2] Two 18th-century manuscripts of the same text have cerap and cearap: „Răpia cine ce putea... cine cerapi, cine călțuni, cine pălării” “Everyone grabbed what he could... one stockings, one socks, one hats” (1754), „cine cearapi” (1730).^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish چوراب (çorap).^{[2][4][5][6][1]} The word spread through all the Balkan languages, among them Modern Greek τσουράπι (tsourápi).^[7][4][8] Ciorănescu cites Cihac, Roesler, Șăineanu, Meyer, Lokotsch and Ronzevalle for the Turkish source.^[4]

The Turkish word is traced through Arabic to Persian جوراب (jōrāb).^[9][10][1] DELR names only the Arabic form, and Eren notes that Pelliot doubted the Persian origin.^[2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1508, in the Slavonic documents of the Romanian chanceries.^[2][7] Customs tariffs of 1761 and 1792 list stockings by price: „ciorapi cei mari de lână împletiți” “large knitted woollen stockings” (1792).^[8]

Semantic evolution

Șăineanu found the word in use in Wallachia, Moldavia and the neighbouring parts of Transylvania; in Moldavia colțun was also current.^[8][7] Cantemir used it in a figure of speech: „Plata păcatului ca despletitura ciorapului fiind” “the wages of sin being like the unravelling of a stocking”.^[3]

Phrases grew from the garment: cal cu ciorapi, a horse with white markings up the legs, and a strânge bani la ciorap, to save money.^[11][6][5] In Banat the word also names a foot wrap.^[6] The compounds ciorap-pantalon and ciorap-chilot “tights” appear in the press from 1964 and 1975.^[12] Technical language uses it for an insulating sleeve on the ends of electric coils, and thieves' slang for a glove.^[13][4][14]

Timeline

• 1508 – the first record, in a Slavonic-Romanian document.^[2][7]
• 1730 – cearapi in a manuscript.^[3]
• 1754 – cerapi in another manuscript of the same text.^[3]
• 1761 – stockings in a customs tariff.^[8]
• 1840 – ciorăpărie “stocking trade, stocking shop”.^[2]
• 1871 – ciorăpar “stocking maker or seller”, and the diminutives ciorăpel and ciorăpior.^[2]
• 1964 – ciorapi-pantaloni “tights” in the press.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sock or stocking: a garment of cotton, wool, silk or synthetic yarn covering the foot;^[5][6] ciorap-chilot, ciorap-pantalon “tights”;^[5][6] a strânge bani la ciorap “to save money”.^[5][6]
2. An insulating sleeve fitted over the ends of electric coils.^[5]
3. (Banat) A foot wrap.^[6]
4. (slang) A glove.^[4][14]

Word family

• ciorăpar
• ciorăpăreasă
• ciorăpărie
• ciorăpel
• ciorăpior

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. ciorap
3. ^ a b c d Costinescu, Mariana; Georgescu, Magdalena; Zgraon, Florentina (1987), Dicționarul limbii române literare vechi (1640–1780): termeni regionali, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 108
4. ^ a b c d e 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. ciorap
5. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 187
6. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 408
7. ^ 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. ciorap
8. ^ a b c d Șăineanu, Lazăr (1900), Influența orientală asupra limbei și culturei române, vol. I: Introducerea; vol. II.1: Vorbele populare; vol. II.2: Vorbele istorice, literare, Indice, București: Socec, p. II, 132
9. ^ a b Eren, Hasan (1999), Türk Dilinin Etimolojik Sözlüğü, Ankara: Bizim Büro, p. 98
10. ^ Tietze, Andreas (2002–2018), Tarihi ve Etimolojik Türkiye Türkçesi Lugatı, Istanbul: Simurg; Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, p. 252
11. ^ Damé, Frédéric (1893–1895), Nouveau dictionnaire roumain-français, 4 vols., Bucarest: Imprimerie de l'État
12. ^ a b Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE), p. s.v. ciorap
13. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. ciorap
14. ^ a b Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. ciorap