electric

Forms

electric m or n (feminine singular electrică, masculine plural electrici, feminine/neuter plural electrice)^[1] The earliest form is eletric: „Esti pricinuită de la... frecătura trupului eletric până când să încălzăşte” “it is caused by the rubbing of the electric body until it warms up” (Amfilohie).^[2][3] Old variants include electricesc, ilectricesc and ilictricesc, and the rare popular iletric.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French électrique.^[3][5][4][1] DELR also names the scientific borrowed from New Latin electricus, the term introduced by the English physicist William Gilbert for the attracting power that amber gets when rubbed; the French word comes from it or from English electric.^[3][6] Gilbert formed it on electrum (“amber”), from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber; alloy of gold and silver”).^[3][6][7] The early form eletric comes from Italian elettrico, which Tiktin names as a second source.^[2][8] The variants ilectricesc and ilictricesc are borrowed from Modern Greek ηλεκτρικός (ilektrikós), which is itself the French and English word adapted to the Ancient Greek one.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELR dates the first record to 1780–1790, in a text of Amfilohie, in the form eletric; the form electric follows in Gheorghe Șincai's manuscript translation from German, Învățătura firească spre surparea superstiției norodului, written in 1804–1808: „Toate acestea sânt trupuri electrice” “all these are electric bodies”.^[3][2][4] Tiktin dates Șincai's record to about 1805.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The first uses describe rubbed bodies that attract light ones, and the fluid electric that early physics supposed to cause these phenomena.^[2][3] Later the word came to describe machines and appliances: lumină electrică, curent electric, sonerie electrică.^[9][10] In folk speech the feminine electrica stands for electric light or electric current.^[4][5] Scriban records inginer electric “electrical engineer” and its use as a noun, “electrician”, now obsolete.^[7][3]

Negruzzi compared a word that found an echo in every heart to an electric spark.^[9] In the press of the 2000s it also qualifies bright, intense colours (galben electric), from French and English.^[11]

Timeline

• 1780–1790 – first record, as eletric, in Amfilohie.^[3]
• 1804–1808 – electric in Gheorghe Șincai;^[12] electricitate and electriza in the same text.^[3]
• 1811 – the Greek-based variant ilictricesc in Greceanu.^[3]
• 1848 – in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[12]
• 1874 – electrician.^[3]
• 1955 – atomoelectric, of nuclear power stations.^[3]
• 2005 – electric of bright colours in the press.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. electric, electrical: belonging or relating to electricity; producing electricity or having energy from it: câmp electric, curent electric, energie electrică.^[5][4][1]
2. Working by electricity: un motor electric, o chitară electrică.^[9][13]
3. (of colours) Bright, intense: albastru electric.^[11]

Adverb

1. By electricity: un aparat care funcționează electric.^[5]

Word family

• atomoelectric
• bioelectric
• bioelectricitate
• dielectric
• electrician
• electricism
• electricitate
• electrifica
• electriza
• electrizabil
• electrizant
• electrizator

Usage notes

Lumină electrică “electric light” is also used as a feminine noun, electrica, in colloquial speech.^[5][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. electric
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. electric
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, 795
5. ^ a b c d e DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 346
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 463
8. ^ a b Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. electric
9. ^ 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, 203
10. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. electric
11. ^ a b c Dimitrescu, Florica (1997), Dicționar de cuvinte recente, 2nd ed., București: Logos (with the 3rd ed., 2013, in CLRE)
12. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
13. ^ Marcu, Florin (2000), Marele dicționar de neologisme, București: Saeculum Vizual, p. s.v. electric