contrar

Forms

contrar m or n (feminine singular contrară, masculine plural contrari, feminine/neuter plural contrare)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin contrārius, one of the neologisms of Latin, with French contraire as a second model.^[2][3][4] Tiktin names Italian contrario as well; the DA says the word followed French, and Wiktionary and MDN put French first.^[5][6][7][1] The older form contrariu is the closer to the Latin.^[2][6]

The Latin adjective is formed on contrā (“against”) with the suffix -ārius.^[8][1] The French word was borrowed from it in 1080.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to about 1710, in Antim Ivireanul, and the DA quotes it as the noun contrariul “the contrary”: „au zis cătră Măria-ta contrariul” “they told Your Highness the contrary”.^[5][6] DELR's first date is 1816, for contrariu in Petru Maior.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the first half of the 19th century the form was contrariu, as in Maior and in Negruzzi's dorinți contrarii “opposing wishes”;^[2][6] contrar spread later in the century.^[2][6] Beside "opposite", the adjective took the senses "harmful" and "unfavourable", as in vânt contrar “a contrary wind”.^[10][11] Maiorescu's Logica gave it a technical sense in logic, noțiuni contrare, and the plural contrarii became a term of philosophy.^[6][4] In Transylvania and Bukovina it was also a noun "adversary", after German Gegner.^[6][3] The adverb and preposition, with the dative (contrar obiceiului meu “contrary to my habit”), are the newest uses.^[6][4]

The family was built on French models: contrarietate (1847), contraria (1851), contrariant (1871).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1710 – the noun contrariul in Antim Ivireanul.^[5][6]
• 1816 – contrariu in Petru Maior.^[2]
• 1847 – contrarietate.^[2]
• 1851 – the verb contraria, in Stamati's dictionary.^[2]
• 1871 – contrariant, in Laurian and Massim.^[2]
• 1872 – dorinți contrarii in the edition of Negruzzi's writings.^[3][6]
• 1886 – Barcianu gives the noun “adversary” beside the adjective.^[12]

Meanings

Adjective

1. opposite, contrary; opus, potrivnic.^[4][3][1]
2. unfavourable or harmful: vânt contrar “a head wind”.^[3][10][11]
3. (logic) Noțiuni contrare: two notions of which accepting one excludes the other, though both may be rejected.^[4][3]

Adverb

1. Against, contrary to, not in keeping with: contrar așteptărilor “contrary to expectations”.^[4][13]

Noun

1. (in the plural, as contrarii) opposites: sides or tendencies of things that exclude each other, in philosophy; also each term of a contradiction.^[4][3]
2. The contrary, what is opposite: a făcut tocmai contrariul “he did just the opposite”.^[5][13]
3. (regional, rare) An adversary, in Transylvania and Bukovina.^[3][6]

Preposition

1. Against: the same as contra.^[4][3]

Word family

• contraria
• contrariant
• contrarietate

Related words

• contra
• Latin contrārius

Usage notes

The variant contrariu survives in the noun contrariul “the opposite” and in the plural contrarii.^[4][13] În caz contrar means “otherwise”.^[13]

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 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. contrar
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 498
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 230
5. ^ 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. contrar
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. contrar
7. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. contrar
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 341
11. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. contrar
12. ^ Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 134
13. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 538