dubiu

Forms

dubiu n (plural dubii)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dubium (“doubt”), a 19th-century learned loan.^[2][3][4][1] DELR and Tiktin name Italian dubbio beside the Latin word.^[3][5]

The Latin noun is the neuter of the adjective dubius (“hesitant, in doubt”), used as a noun.^[3][1] The adjective is built on the stem du- (“two”), probably with an element from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to be, become”), as in probus and superbus: the idea is “of two forms, double”.^[3][6] The same image of “two” lies behind the native Romanian îndoi and îndoielnic.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin's first record is from Gheorghe Șincai's Hronicul, written about 1812, with the sense “doubt”.^[5][7] DELR dates the noun from 1861, in Heliade-Rădulescu, who asks who could put the honour of a certain musiu Rapace „în dubiu”, “in doubt”.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the Latin sense “doubt, uncertainty”, and with it the lack of trust in someone or something.^[4][7] Its usual phrases are a pune în dubiu “to call into question” and a fi or a sta în dubiu “to be in doubt”.^[7][8] Șăineanu's dictionary of 1929 adds a sense “scepticism”.^[9]

The Latin family came in at the same time: DELR dates dubios from 1815 (Budai-Deleanu), dubitativ from 1833 and dubita from 1868.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1812 – “doubt” in Șincai's Hronicul, the first record.^[5]
• 1815 – the adjective dubios in Budai-Deleanu.^[3]
• 1861 – a pune în dubiu “to call into question” in Heliade-Rădulescu.^[3][7]
• 1862 – Pontbriant's dictionary glosses it with French “doute, hésitation”.^[10]
• 1868 – the verb dubita in Barcianu.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. doubt, uncertainty; lack of trust in someone or something: Nu am niciun dubiu că va reuși.^[4][7]
2. a pune în dubiu – to call into question;^[7][8] a fi (or a sta) în dubiu – to be in two minds.^[7][8]

Related words

• dubios
• dubita
• dubitativ
• indubitabil
• îndoială
• Latin dubium

Usage notes

An adjective dubiu, dubie “doubtful”, taken from Latin dubius, was used rarely in the 19th century: Șincai writes that a battle „a fost dubie”, “was undecided”.^[7][11] Pontbriant (1862) gives the noun a plural in -uri; the standard plural is dubii.^[10][4]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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. dubiu
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. dubiu
4. ^ a b c d DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 334
5. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. dubiu
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. dubiu
8. ^ a b c Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 176
9. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 222
10. ^ a b Pontbriant, Raoul de (1862), Dictiunaru romano-francesu, Bucuresci: A. Ulrich / Göttingen: Dieterich, p. 232
11. ^ Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 764