dezmăța

Forms

a se dezmăța (third-person singular present dezmață, past participle dezmățat), 1st conjugation^[1]

Etymology

DEX 2009, the DLR and MDA2 take it as a back-formation from Romanian dezmățat (“dissolute”), an adjective formed on maț (“gut”), which continues Latin matia (“intestine”).^[2][3][4][5] The participle is recorded far earlier and more often than the verb.^[5]

DELR derives the verb itself from the same noun, with the first sense “to disembowel”, as in Aromanian dizmățari; it may be a Latin formation already, Vulgar Latin *dismatiō, as Papahagi proposed.^[5] DELR finds an adjective made directly on the noun, as Hristea held, unlikely, because the prefix dez- implies an action.^[5]

Ciorănescu derives it instead from Vulgar Latin *dismētiō, from mētior (“to measure”) with dis-, comparing Spanish descomedido (“immoderate”); he rejects the “gut” etymology, since the prefix points to guts removed, not hanging out.^[6][1] Giuglea proposed a Latin compound of amiciō (“to wrap”), and Cihac thought of Old Church Slavonic метати (metati, “to throw”).^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The participle dezmățat appears first, in the Bucharest Bible of 1688; a personal form of the verb is recorded only in 1829.^[5] MDA2 dates the verb from Vaillant's vocabulary of 1839.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The old dictionaries give “to tear into rags, to fray” and “to go about with clothes undone and torn”.^[3][5] Ciorănescu thinks the “ragged” sense owes something to the influence of the “gut” etymology.^[6] The sense “to lead a dissolute life” is the one used today.^[5][2] An old sense “to squander (a fortune)” is recorded in Constantin Gane.^[3]

Timeline

• 1688 – the participle dezmățat in the Bucharest Bible, the first record.^[5]
• 1717–1723 – dezmățare “licentiousness” in Cantemir's Hronicul.^[5]
• 1829 – the first personal form of the verb.^[5]
• 1839 – in Vaillant's vocabulary.^[4]
• 1850 – the hapax răzmățat “in disorder”, in Anton Pann.^[5]
• 1922 – the noun dezmăț “debauchery” in Camil Petrescu.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (reflexive, rare) To lead a dissolute life, to give oneself up to debauchery.^[2][6][1]
2. (reflexive) To go about slovenly, with one's clothes undone or torn.^[4]
3. (dated, of fabrics) To fray, to fall into rags.^[4][3]
4. (dated, transitive) To squander money or goods.^[4]

Word family

• dezmăț
• dezmățare
• dezmățău
• răzmățat

Related words

• dezmățat
• maț

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 309
3. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dezmăța
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, 698
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. dezmăța
6. ^ a b c d 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. desmăța