custa

Forms

custa (third-person singular present custă, past participle custat, third-person subjunctive custe) 1st conjugation^[1] Old and regional variants are costa and cușta.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin cōnstō (“to stand firm, remain unchanged”), formed from con- and stō (“to stand”), the source of sta.^{[3][4][2][5][6]} Pușcariu, the REW and Drăganu gave the same etymon.^[4] It survives south of the Danube as Aromanian custu, which DELR glosses “to go well, make progress (of work)”.^[4][3] Romanian kept the old sense “to stand, last, live”, while the other Romance languages took the verb in the sense “to cost”: Italian costare, French coûter, Spanish costar, Portuguese custar.^[3][7] DER compares Sardinian kustare (“to happen”).^[4]

The same Latin verb gave consta, borrowed from Latin, and costa “to cost”, which came through Italian.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record before 1579, in a document published in Iorga's Documente Bistrițene.^[2] The Palia de la Orăștie of 1581–1582 has „Custă încă tată-mieu” “my father is still alive”.^[8][5] DELR dates its first record to the Palia, 1582.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the old literary language the verb meant “to live, be alive” and was used in Moldavia, Banat, Crișana and Transylvania;^[9][8] Varlaam wished „să custe în mulți ani” “may he live many years”.^[9][8] Transitively, with God as the subject, it meant “to keep alive”: „Să ne custe Domnul” “may the Lord keep us alive” in Dosoftei.^[9][5] The Anonymus Caransebesiensis glossary renders it with Latin vīvō (“to live”) and cōnservor (“to be preserved”).^[9] The Transylvanian School writers revived it for “to exist, last”: Șincai wrote of inscriptions „care până în ziua de astăzi custă” “which survive to this day”.^[8]

DA calls it a fine word of Latin origin that survives only in Bihor and the Apuseni Mountains.^[8] DER thinks it gave way because it sounded the same as costa “to cost”.^[4] In the Banat and Transylvania the blessing Dumnezeu să te custe! “God keep you!” is still recorded.^[5]

Timeline

• before 1579 – a document in Iorga's Documente Bistrițene, the first record.^[2]
• 1581–1582 – custă “is alive” in the Palia de la Orăștie.^[5][8]
• 1643 – the noun cust “life” in Varlaam's Cazania.^[3]
• 1806 – custare “living, existence” and necustare “death” in Șincai.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated, regional) To live, be alive.^[2][10]
2. (dated, regional) To exist; to last, endure.^[2][4]
3. (obsolete) To consist.^[2][10]
4. (transitive, dated, regional; of God) To keep alive: Dumnezeu să te custe! “God keep you!”^[2][5]

Word family

• cust
• custare
• necustare

Related words

• consta
• costa
• sta
• Aromanian custu

Usage notes

MDA2 also lists a custa that is only a variant of costa “to cost”.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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, 584
3. ^ 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. custa
4. ^ a b c d e f 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. custa
5. ^ a b c d e f Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. custa
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2170
8. ^ a b c d e f 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. custa
9. ^ 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. 1, 117
10. ^ a b Bulgăr, Gheorghe; Constantinescu-Dobridor, Gheorghe (2002), Dicționar de arhaisme și regionalisme, 2 vols., București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. custa