deține

Forms

deține (present dețin, third person deține, past participle deținut), third conjugation.^[2][1] An old and popular variant follows the second conjugation, deținea.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French détenir, adapted to the conjugation of ține;^[3][2][1] for the sense “to detain” DELR and MDA2 name borrowed from Latin dētineō (“to hold back, detain”) as a second source.^[3][4] Tiktin gives Italian detenere beside the French.^[6] The French verb is itself borrowed from the Latin and was remade after tenir;^[7][3] the Latin is formed dē- + teneō (“to hold”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR's first record is in a work of Petru Maior of 1816,^[3] in the old sense “to keep, hold back”: „Boii şi caii să se deţină, adecă să se oprească acasă” “the oxen and horses should be kept, that is, held at home”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, holding back by force, is now rare; from it came the sense “to arrest and keep in custody”, which Ion Ghica uses, and deținut “prisoner”, recorded from 1836.^[9][3][4] The sense “to possess” comes in early too: deținător “holder” is recorded from 1825.^[3] The CADE still gives only “to hold wrongfully” and “to keep under arrest”.^[10] Today it is chiefly to hold property or something in safekeeping, and by extension to hold a title, a record or an office.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1816 – deține “to keep, hold back” in Petru Maior, the first record.^[3][6]
• 1825 – dețiitor, an early form of deținător “holder”.^[3]
• 1836 – deținut “prisoner”.^[3]
• 1862 – detentor and detenție, from French.^[3]
• 1923 – codeținut “fellow prisoner”.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To own, to have something in one's possession or keeping.^[2][4][1]
2. To have at one's disposal; to hold a title, prize or record, an office or a rank: Echipa deține titlul de doi ani.^[2][4]
3. To detain, to keep someone in custody, for investigation or after a sentence.^[2][4][1]

Word family

• codeținut
• detentor
• detenție
• deținere
• deținut

Related words

• ține
• Latin dētineō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 304
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. deține
4. ^ 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, 684
5. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. deține
6. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. deține
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. deține
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. deține