Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Romanian word dinioare

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Latin de una hora
Ultimate origin
Latin dē ūnā hōrā

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin dē ūnā hōrā (“from one hour”), according to DEX, MDA2 and Wiktionary.[1][2][3] Ciorănescu lists adinioare and its shorter form among the modern variants of odinioară (“once, formerly”), which he derives from the same Latin phrase after Tiktin, the modern variants having taken the sense “recently, a moment ago”.[4] He also lists dinioară among the variants of adineaori (“a moment ago”), which he derives from in illā hōrā (“in that hour”).[5] DELR explains the variant adinioară of that adverb by a blending with the adverb for “once”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dictionaries quote it from Ion Creangă: „că bine-o mai plesniși dinioare cu cuvinte din scriptură” “for you hit it off well a moment ago with words from scripture”.[7][8] Șăineanu labels it Moldavian and quotes vorba de dinioare “what was said just now” from Creangă.[9] MDA2's first record is in the Bârlad periodical Ion Creangă, which appeared from 1908.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (regional, Moldavia) A moment ago, just now; the same as adineauri: L-am văzut dinioare la poartă.[1][2][9]

Usage notes

The i and the oa are pronounced as separate syllables: di-ni-oa-re.[1] The DLR gives it only as a cross-reference to adineaori.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 316
  2. ^ a b c Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 717
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ 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. odinioară
  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. adineaori
  6. ^ 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. adineaori
  7. ^ Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 121
  8. ^ Stati, Vasile (2003), Dicționar moldovenesc-românesc, Chișinău, p. 92
  9. ^ a b Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 1, 211
  10. ^ Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dinioare

Related etymologies

  • bun · also from Latin
  • unde · also from Latin
  • veni · also from Latin
  • noi · also from Latin
  • bine · also from Latin
  • un · also from Latin
  • și · also from Latin
  • sta · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Dinioare.” Etymologically, 12 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ro/dinioare. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·