dezvălui

Forms

a dezvălui (third-person singular present dezvăluie, past participle dezvăluit), 4th conjugation^[1] The present is also conjugated with the infix: dezvăluiesc “I reveal”.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from Romanian dez- + învălui (“to wrap, to envelop”), with the prefix of reversal in place of ⟨în-⟩, so that it means “to unwrap, to unveil”.^[3][4][5][1] DLR and DEX add that some of its senses follow French dévoiler (“to unveil, to disclose”).^[3][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin dates the first record to 1703, in the concrete sense “to unveil, to uncover”, which he glosses with German enthüllen.^[5] MDA2 gives no record older than Tiktin's own dictionary of 1903.^[4] DLR's oldest quotation is from Negruzzi: a shroud is drawn back to uncover a dead woman's face.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first sense is physical: to lay something bare by lifting what covers it, close to dezveli;^[3][7] DLR also records it for buildings and for ruins brought to light by excavation.^[3][7] From there it passed to the figurative “to make known, to show”, used of a work that reveals its author's mind or of a secret disclosed to someone, and this is now the main sense.^[3][2] The reflexive a se dezvălui “to come into view, to unfold” is used of a landscape or of daybreak, as in Eminescu's day emerging out of the night.^[3] Tiktin quotes a view unfolding before the eye.^[5]

Timeline

• 1703 – the first record Tiktin gives.^[5]
• 1903 – the first volume of Tiktin's dictionary, the record MDA2 cites.^[4]
• 1955–1957 – DLRLC notes that it competes with dezveli in the physical sense.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To make known, by words, writing or images; to reveal, to show.^[2][4]
2. (transitive) To disclose or divulge a secret or private thought: Și-a dezvăluit planurile abia la sfârșit. “Only at the end did he reveal his plans.”^[2][8]
3. (transitive) To uncover something by lifting what covers it; to lay bare.^[3][7]
4. (reflexive) To come into view, to show oneself; to unfold.^[2][1]

Word family

• dezvăluire

Related words

• învălui
• dezveli

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1, 310
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dezvălui
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, 702
5. ^ 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. dezvălui
6. ^ Wikționar (Romanian Wiktionary), ro.wiktionary.org
7. ^ a b c d Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 104
8. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. dezvălui