creștinătate

Forms

creștinătate f (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

DELR first gives it as inherited from Late Latin chrīstiānitās (“Christianity, Christendom”), following Tiktin, Candrea–Densusianu, Pascu, the DA and the Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian dictionaries.^[2][3][4][5] Popovici's argument for this view, as DELR reports it, is that a collective sense of the suffix is not usual in words formed in Romanian.^[2] Graur, followed by Ciorănescu and the DEX, takes it instead as formed from Romanian creștin + -ătate.^[2][6][7] MDA2 gives both.^[8] The Latin noun is formed on Chrīstiānus (“Christian”), which also gave creștin.^[1][6]

The word survives south of the Danube as Aromanian crishtinãtati and Megleno-Romanian criștinătati.^[9][2] Candrea and Densusianu compare Italian cristianità, French chrétienté, Spanish cristiandad and Portuguese cristandade.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1560, in Coresi's catechism.^[2] Tiktin dates the same print 1559.^[2][3] The early sense is the Christian faith and the conduct it requires: Coresi's Carte de învățătură of 1581 speaks of „creștinătatea ceaia dereaptă” “the right Christian faith”.^[5][8]

Semantic evolution

In the old language and in folk poetry the noun meant the Christian religion or Christian conduct, a sense the DA records from Coresi to the 18th century.^[5][3] The collective sense, all Christians and the Christian countries of the world, is recorded in the chronicles: Neculce writes that the Poles turned to the whole of Christendom in Europe.^[3][5] The collective sense is the only one in modern use.^[7][10] A rare plural creștinătăți occurs in a folk song.^[5]

Timeline

• 1559–1560 – the first record, in Coresi's catechism.^[2][3]
• 1581 – creștinătatea ceaia dereaptă “the right faith” in Coresi's Carte de învățătură.^[5][8]
• c. 1650 – “Christendom” in the Anonymus Caransebesiensis.^[5]
• 1682 – creștinăție “Christian faith”, a word used once, in Dosoftei.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Christendom: all the Christian countries or peoples of the world: Vestea a străbătut întreaga creștinătate.^[7][8]
2. A community of Christians.^[7]
3. (obsolete) The Christian faith, Christianity;^[8] Christian conduct.^[8][5]

Related words

• creștin
• creștinism
• Aromanian crishtinãtati

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. creștin
3. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. creștinătáte
4. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București, p. s.v. creștinătate
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. creștinătáte
6. ^ 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. creștin
7. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 249
8. ^ 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, 547
9. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 337
10. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. creștinătate