diamant

Forms

diamant n (plural diamante)^[1] Older texts have a plural diamanturi and spell the word diiamant: a record of 1686 lists „1 părechi șărjă cu diiamanturi” “one pair of earrings with diamonds”.^[2][3] Budai-Deleanu's Țiganiada has the Transylvanian variant demant: „Ci sânt și mai rar decât demanții!” “but they are rarer still than diamonds!”.^[2][4] Regional and old variants include ghemán, diemán, adamant and adimant.^[4][5][6]

Etymology

It is most probably borrowed from Modern Greek διαμάντι (diamánti), the source that Ciorănescu, Tiktin, Scriban and DELR give.^[6][5][7][4] DELR adds that the word was reinforced by German Diamant, Polish diamant and New Latin diamas, and later by French diamant, which the DLR, DEX and Wiktionary give as its only source.^[4][2][8][1] MDA2 names French and German.^[3] The variants gheman and dieman come from Hungarian gyémánt, and demant from Austrian German Demant or the older Hungarian form démant.^[4][6]

The Greek word is a borrowing of Italian diamante, from Late Latin diamas, which goes back to Ancient Greek ἀδάμας (adámas, “hardest metal, steel; diamond”), literally “unconquerable”, formed with the privative ἀ- (a-).^[4][9] The change of the first syllable to ⟨dia-⟩ is put down to the influence of Greek words in δια- (dia-) such as διαφανής (diaphanḗs, “transparent”).^[4][10]

The word is also found in Aromanian diamantă and Megleno-Romanian diaman.^[6][11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the variant ghemán in the Palia de la Orăștie of 1582.^[4] The form diamant appears in a document of 1600 about men who know the veins of ore and diamonds and had worked in Hungary.^[4][2] The sense in these texts is the precious stone.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the gem the word passed to tools that use a diamond point: the glazier's tool for cutting glass and a dentist's instrument covered with diamond grit.^[8][3][13] Printers use it for the smallest size of type, and sailors for the crown of an anchor, where the arms meet the shank.^[3][4] Disc de diamant “diamond disc” is an award for very successful pop singers.^[3] Figuratively the word stands for something priceless.^[14]

Romanian formed the adjective diamantin “brilliant as a diamond”.^[6] The plural noun diamanticale “jewels” is a loan from Greek.^[6] Diamantar “diamond cutter” (1840), diamantat “set with diamonds” (1854) and diamanta “to set with diamonds” (1870) were taken from French.^[4]

Timeline

• 1582 – the variant ghemán in the Palia de la Orăștie, the first record.^[4]
• c. 1594 – a document, Tiktin's first record of the form.^[5]
• 1600 – diamante “diamonds” in a document.^[4][2]
• 1686 – the plural diiamanturi in a list of jewels.^[3][2]
• 1688 – zid de diamant “a wall of diamond” in the Bucharest Bible (Amos 7:7).^[5][15]
• 1840 – diamantar “diamond cutter”.^[4]
• 1854 – diamantat “set with diamonds”.^[4]
• 1870 – diamanta “to set with diamonds”, in Costinescu's dictionary.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. diamond: the crystalline form of carbon, the hardest mineral, used as a precious stone and in tools for grinding and cutting.^[8][3][1]
2. A glazier's tool for cutting glass, with a small diamond set in a metal holder.^[8][3]
3. The smallest size of printing type.^[8][3]
4. (nautical) The crown of an anchor, where its arms meet the shank.^[3][4]
5. A dental instrument covered with fine diamond grit.^[3][13]

Word family

• diamanta
• diamantar
• diamantat
• diamanticale
• diamantifer
• diamantin

Related words

• Aromanian diamantă
• adamant

Usage notes

Disc de diamant “diamond disc” is a set phrase for an award given to very successful singers.^[3] The old plurals diamanturi and diamanți have given way to diamante.^[3][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. diamant
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 705
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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. diamant
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. diamant
6. ^ a b c d e f 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. diamant
7. ^ Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 422
8. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 312
9. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter
11. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 207
12. ^ Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 108
13. ^ a b Marcu, Florin; Maneca, Constant (1986), Dicționar de neologisme, 3rd ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. s.v. diamant
14. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 208
15. ^ Biblia, adecă Dumnezeiasca Scriptură a ceii vechi și a ceii noao leage, București, 1688 (ed. 1988, tricentennial edition), p. Amos 7:7