deprimat

Forms

deprimat m or n (feminine singular deprimată, masculine plural deprimați, feminine/neuter plural deprimate)^[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the past participle from Romanian deprima.^[2][3][4][1] DEX and the DILF compare French déprimé, the French participle with the same sense.^[2][5] The verb is from French déprimer, first “to press down”, which was taken from Latin dēprimō (“to press down, sink”), formed on premō (“to press”).^[6][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DLR quotes the adjective first from Titu Maiorescu's parliamentary speeches, where the senate appears “very downcast”.^[3] Eminescu's journalism has it too, of public opinion in Serbia after the defeats.^[3] MDA2 gives Camil Petrescu's Teatru as its first record.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective is said of people and of groups such as the public: discouraged, low in spirits, demoralized.^[3][2] It is also used of a face or a smile that shows dejection, and as a noun for depressed people.^[3] The verb behind it is recorded from 1795, first in the senses “to press down” and “to belittle”, before “to cause depression” became the main one.^[6]

Timeline

• 1795 – the verb deprima in the Pilde filosoficești.^[6]
• 1882 – deprimător “depressing” in Eminescu.^[6]
• 1947 – deprimat in the third volume of Camil Petrescu's Teatru, MDA2's first record.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. depressed, downcast: discouraged, low in spirits, demoralized.^[2][4][1]
2. Of a face, a smile or a manner: showing dejection.^[3]

Noun

1. A depressed person: Deprimații nu se bucură de nimic. “Depressed people take pleasure in nothing.”^[3]

Related words

• deprima
• depresiune
• French déprimé

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 292
3. ^ 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. deprimát
4. ^ 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, 648
5. ^ Costăchescu, Adriana; Dincă, Daniela; Dragoste, Ramona; Popescu, Mihaela; Scurtu, Gabriela (2009–2010), Dicționar de împrumuturi lexicale din limba franceză (DILF), 2 vols., Craiova: Universitaria, p. s.v. deprimat
6. ^ a b c d 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. deprima
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. dēprimō