dedesubt

Forms

dedesubt^[1] MDA2 gives the variant dedesupt;^[2][3] Dosoftei writes didesupt: „Fu .. didesupt pârjolit cu foc” “he was scorched with fire from underneath”.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian de + de + subt, with the preposition doubled.^[2][4][3][5] Wiktionary explains it as the older desubt with the preposition added a second time, a process seen in the phrase ⟨de dedesubt⟩; it compares the doubling in ălălalt.^[1] The older form matches Italian di sotto and French dessous.^[1]

The base subt is a variant of sub, from Latin subtus (“below”), which survives in all four branches: Aromanian sum, Megleno-Romanian sup and Istro-Romanian su.^[6] Ciorănescu lists the word among its compounds.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki of the early 16th century, as dedesupt “below, beneath” (Psalm 85).^[2][7] Tiktin cites the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The adverb “in the lower part, underneath”, opposed to deasupra, is the oldest use; with de it serves as an adjective, “lower”.^[2][4][8] The 17th-century Slavonic–Romanian lexicons use it to render Slavonic words for “under” and “nethermost”.^[9] The articled dedesubtul with a genitive works as a preposition, “under, beneath”.^[2][10] As a neuter noun it means the lowest or deepest part of something, and in the plural dedesubturi the hidden, often dishonest side of an affair.^[2][4][8]

Timeline

• c. 1500–1520 – dedesupt in the Psaltirea Hurmuzaki, the first record.^[2][7]
• 16th century – in the Psaltirea Scheiană.^[5]
• 1570 – in Coresi's psalter.^[11]
• 1649 – in Mardarie's Slavonic–Romanian lexicon.^[9]
• 1688 – often in the Bucharest Bible.^[12]

Meanings

Adverb

1. below, underneath; in the lower part, under something.^[4][2][1]
2. (with de, as an adjective) Lower, from below: camera de dedesubt.^[4][2]

Preposition

1. (as dedesubtul, with the genitive) beneath, under: dedesubtul podului.^[2][10]

Noun

1. The underside, the lowest or deepest part of something.^[4][2]
2. (figurative, mostly plural) The hidden, secret side of an affair or situation.^[4][2][8]

Related words

• sub
• deasupra

Usage notes

The noun has the plural dedesubturi.^[4][2] It is pronounced with /b/ or /p/ before the final /t/.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 622
3. ^ a b c Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dedesubt
4. ^ 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. 280
5. ^ 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. dedesubt
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. sub
7. ^ a b Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 85:12
8. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 35
9. ^ a b Ungureanu, Mădălina; Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Moruz, Alexandru (eds.), eRomLex: The First Romanian Bilingual Dictionaries (17th century), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. s.v. dedesupt
10. ^ a b Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. dedesubt
11. ^ Gînsac, Ana-Maria; Ungureanu, Mădălina; Moruz, Alexandru et al., roPsalt: Re-evaluating the Sixteenth Century Romanian Psalters (aligned corpus), Iași: Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza”, https://scriptadacoromanica.ro, p. Ps 87:6
12. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Gen 6:16