concentrare

Forms

concentrare f (plural concentrări)^[1]

Etymology

It is the long infinitive of the verb, formed from Romanian concentra + -re.^[2][3][4][1] The verb was taken from French concentrer, with German konzentrieren as a second model according to Tiktin, and Marcu & Maneca compare Italian concentrare.^[2][1][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is in Barițiu in 1840.^[3] MDA2 dates it later, to Maiorescu's parliamentary speeches of 1866.^[2] Tiktin gives three senses for it: concentration, a military exercise, and mental composure.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Barițiu's Hungarian–Romanian dictionary of 1869 gives it as the equivalent of Hungarian középülés.^[7] Around 1900 a common sense was military: the call-up of reservists for a period of training.^[8][9] The sense of mental focus, the fixing of attention on one thing, comes next to it.^[10][4] In the 20th century it gained technical senses in mining and chemistry and the economic phrases concentrarea producției and concentrarea capitalului.^[4][11] The phrase lagăr de concentrare “concentration camp” is in the dictionaries of the 1950s.^[12]

Timeline

• 1800 – the verb concentra, in the form conțentra.^[5]
• 1840 – concentrare in Barițiu, the first record.^[3]
• 1866 – in Maiorescu's parliamentary speeches.^[2]
• 1875 – Antonescu glosses it with French concentration, rassemblement.^[13]
• 1931 – CADE gives the call-up of reservists as a separate sense.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. concentration: the act or result of gathering in one place or directing towards one point.^[4][2]
2. The fixing of one's attention on one thing, task or problem.^[4]
3. (mining) The separation of useful minerals from waste rock.^[4][2]
4. (chemistry) The raising of the proportion of one component in a mixture or solution.^[4][2]
5. (economics, in phrases) concentrarea producției “the concentration of production” in ever larger firms;^[4][2] concentrarea capitalului “the growth of capital by accumulation”.^[4][2]
6. (military) The temporary call-up of reservists in peacetime.^[2][8]

Related words

• concentra
• concentrat
• centru

Usage notes

Lagăr de concentrare is a concentration camp, a place where people are held for their political activity or on racial grounds.^[4][2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 478
3. ^ 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. concentráre
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 216
5. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. concentrá
6. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. concentra
7. ^ Barițiu, George (1869), Dictionariu unguresc-romanescu, Brașov, p. 327
8. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 327
9. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. concentrare
11. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 512
12. ^ Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. s.v. concentrare
13. ^ Antonescu, G. M. (1875), Dictionariu romanu-francesu, Bucuresci: Typografia Curții (Lucrători Associați), p. 55