cosmic

Forms

cosmic m or n (feminine singular cosmică, masculine plural cosmici, feminine/neuter plural cosmice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French cosmique, as DELR, Tiktin, DEX and Wiktionary give it.^[2][3][4][1] Marcu & Maneca and Marcu add Latin cosmicus as a second model.^[5][6] The word belongs to the family of cosmos, which DELR derives from Modern Greek κόσμος (kósmos, “order; world”), helped by cosmos.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR and Tiktin date the first record to 1840, in the French–Romanian vocabulary of Poenaru, Aaron and Hill, with the sense “of the cosmos”.^[2][3] MDA2 dates it later, to Laurian & Massim's dictionary of 1871, which has legi cosmice “cosmic laws”.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The adjective first meant “of the whole world, of the universe”.^[8] Science added the phrases raze cosmice “cosmic rays” and spațiu cosmic “outer space”, and by extension the word came to mean anything beyond the Earth.^[4][5] Marcu adds a figurative sense, “of fantastic proportions”.^[6] The compound aerocosmic “aerospace” followed in 1977, modelled on Russian.^[2]

Timeline

• 1840 – the first record, in Poenaru, Aaron and Hill's vocabulary.^[2][3]
• 1871 – legi cosmice “cosmic laws” in Laurian & Massim.^[8][7]
• 1977 – the compound aerocosmic.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the cosmos; relating to the universe.^[4][7]
2. raze cosmice: cosmic rays;^[4] spațiu cosmic: outer space; by extension, the space beyond the Earth.^[4]
3. (figurative) Of fantastic proportions.^[6]

Related words

• cosmos
• cosmonaut
• French cosmique

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. cosmos
3. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. cosmic
4. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 241
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. cosmic
6. ^ a b c Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. cosmic
7. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 520
8. ^ a b c 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. cosmic