desfășura

Forms

a desfășura (third-person singular present desfășoară, past participle desfășurat, third-person subjunctive desfășoare), first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian des- + înfășura, with the prefix replacing the în- of the opposite verb.^[2][3][1] Ciorănescu lists it among the derivatives of înfășa, from which Romanian made the opposite verb, probably on a supposed plural or collective ⟨*fășuri⟩ of fașă “band, swaddling cloth”, which goes back to Latin fascia (“band, strip”).^[4][5][1]

An older view derives the verb directly from Latin: Candrea and Densusianu and Tiktin start from Vulgar Latin *dĭsfasciŏlo, a diminutive verb built on the Latin noun, and Tiktin compares the ending with spânzura from *expendiolō.^[6][7][1] MDA2 gives both explanations.^[3] Ciorănescu rejects such a Latin diminutive behind ⟨înfășura⟩, noting that neither the dialects south of the Danube nor the other Romance languages support it.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2 dates the first record to the Lexicon de la Buda of 1825, the four-language dictionary of the Transylvanian scholars.^[3] Tiktin's first example is from Costache Negruzzi in 1829: unfolding a veil of lace, a character covers someone with it.^[7] The sense is concrete, “to unwrap, spread out what was rolled up”.^[7]

Semantic evolution

From the concrete sense of unrolling something wrapped or wound, the verb came to mean spreading out over the whole length or surface, and, reflexively, a landscape that opens before the eyes.^[2][3] The figurative senses followed: events that take place and develop in successive stages, and an activity carried out on a broad scale; Șăineanu already gives “to display” in a desfășura un mare zel “to show great zeal”.^[2][8] In military use it means passing from marching order into battle formation.^[2][3]

The present tense has two forms: desfășor is the usual one, desfășur the less common.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1825 – first record, in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[3]
• 1829 – desfășurând vălul “unfolding the veil” in Costache Negruzzi.^[7]
• 1929 – Șăineanu gives the figurative sense “to display (zeal)”.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To unwind, unroll or unfold something that was wrapped or coiled, spreading it over its whole length or surface: Bunica desfășoară covorul în mijlocul camerei.^[2][3][1]
2. (reflexive, of troops) To pass from marching order into battle formation.^[2][3]
3. (figurative, also reflexive) Of a landscape or view, to appear gradually in its full extent, to stretch far away.^[2][3]
4. (reflexive) Of events, to take place and develop through successive stages: Ședința s-a desfășurat fără incidente.^[2][1]
5. To carry out an activity on a broad scale and in stages; to show or display (effort, zeal).^[2][8]

Word family

• desfășurare
• desfășurător

Related words

• înfășura
• fașă
• înfășa
• desfășa
• Latin fascia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 298
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 662
4. ^ 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. înfășa
5. ^ 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. fașă
6. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București
7. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. desfășura
8. ^ a b c Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 202