dans

Forms

dans n (plural dansuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French danse, as DER, DELR, MDA2, DEX 2009 and Wiktionary give it.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The French noun is formed on the verb danser, recorded from about 1170, whose origin is uncertain;^[3][6][7] DELR, after the TLFi, thinks it probably Germanic.^[3][6][7]

The older form danț has a separate history.^[3] DELR takes it from Modern Greek δάντζα (dántza), itself from Italian danza, or directly from the Italian word, brought by travelling actors; it became neuter perhaps under the influence of German Tanz, Hungarian tánc and Polish taniec.^[3] Tiktin calls the form a curious blend of the Romance form and the German–Slavic one, and DER sees the Italian phonetics in it.^[8][2] The variant tanț is from German.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is the form danț, in a Coresi text in the Codex Sturdzanus of about 1560–1561, where it has the figurative sense “a treacherous game, scheming”.^[3] MDA2's first record is from about 1600, in a text printed by Hasdeu, and Tiktin's from 1632.^[4][8]

Semantic evolution

In the old language danț named dancing at a wedding in Dosoftei's lives of the saints: „cu danțuri, cu timpene” “with dances and tambourines”.^[8] Tiktin notes that the popular word is joc.^[8][4] The derivatives followed French models in the 19th century: dansator is recorded from 1845, the verb dansa (French danser) from 1853 and dansant from 1854.^[3][2] Today the noun covers the art, the act of dancing, the named dances (dans popular “folk dance”, dans clasic “ballet”) and a party with dancing.^[5][4]

Timeline

• c. 1560–1561 – danț “scheming” in a Coresi text in the Codex Sturdzanus.^[3]
• c. 1600 – MDA2's first record.^[4]
• 1632 – Tiktin's first record.^[8]
• 1643 – the verb dănțui “to dance” in Varlaam's Cazania.^[3]
• 1691–1697 – dănțuitor “dancer” in Teodor Corbea's dictionary.^[3]
• c. 1770 – contredanț “contredanse”.^[3]
• 1845 – dansator in Alecsandri.^[3]
• 1853 – danța, the verb later spelled dansa, in Baronzi.^[3]
• 1924 – dancing “dance hall”, from English.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dance: a series of rhythmic movements of the body performed to music;^[5][4][1] dans popular “folk dance”, dans de salon “ballroom dance”.^[5][4][1]
2. The act of dancing; the art of dance.^[5][4]
3. dans macabru: the danse macabre, the allegory of a skeleton leading people of every age and rank to death.^[5][4]
4. dansul albinelor: the bees' dance, by which bees signal a source of food.^[5][4]
5. A party with dancing.^[4]

Word family

• dansa
• dansator
• dansant
• dănțui
• dănțuitor
• contradans

Related words

• joc
• French danse

Usage notes

The plural is dansuri.^[5][8] Ai intrat în dans, trebuie să joci “once in the dance you must dance” is said of someone who has committed himself and cannot back out.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. dans
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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. dans
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 598
5. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 270
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
8. ^ 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. dans