demisie

Forms

demisie f (plural demisii)^[1] The old texts have several variants: demisiune („a sa demisiune”, 1835), dimisie („au dat dimisie din acest post”, Asachi) and dimision („după dimisionul dumisale”, 1840).^[2] DELR also lists demisioană, demision, demisionă, demisione and dimisiune.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French démission (“resignation”).^[4][3][1] According to MDA2 and Tiktin it is also borrowed from Italian dimissione, and according to DELR also borrowed from German Demission.^[5][6][3] The neologism dictionaries name French and Latin dēmissiō (“removal”).^[7][8] The old variants in ⟨di-⟩, such as dimisie, follow dīmissiō (“a sending away”).^[3]

The French noun is the abstract noun of démettre (“to remove from office”).^[3] It was borrowed in 1338 from the same Latin noun, which meant only “lowering”, from dēmittō (“to let down”), and took its sense “giving up an office” from the reflexive use of the verb in the sense “to resign”.^[9] The Romanian verb demite spread later, by association with the noun, which was the older and more frequent loan.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1799.^[6] DELR's first record is in Albina românească in 1830, and MDA2's in Curierul românesc in 1833: S-a făgăduit că își va da a sa demisie, dar nu a fost priimită “he promised to hand in his resignation, but it was not accepted”.^[3][5][2]

Semantic evolution

It has meant the act or written request by which someone gives up an office or post since its first records.^[2][3] The usual phrase is a-și da demisia “to resign”; one also înaintează “submits” or oferă “offers” it.^[2][6] Negulici's dictionary of 1848 explains it as “stepping down from an office”, with Latin abdicatio.^[10] The derivatives came from French in the 1840s: demisiona “to resign” and demisionar “who has resigned”, both 1845.^[3]

Timeline

• 1799 – the first record, as Tiktin dates it.^[6]
• 1830 – demisie in Albina românească.^[3]
• 1833 – in Curierul românesc.^[5][2]
• 1835 – the variant demisiune.^[2]
• 1840 – the variant dimision.^[2]
• 1845 – demisiona “to resign” and demisionar “who has resigned”.^[3]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. resignation: the act or written request by which an employee or an official gives up a post or an office.^[4][5] Ministrul și-a dat demisia aseară.^[4]
2. The document that contains such a request.^[11]

Related words

• demisiona
• demisionar
• demite
• French démission

Usage notes

The variant dimisie is now obsolete.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. demisie
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. demite
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 287
5. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 638
6. ^ a b c d Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. demisie
7. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. demisie
8. ^ Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. demisie
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București, p. s.v. demisie
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. demisie